Idiots at Play
by Jaded Expression of Euphoria
Summary: This is a story with OCs in it. Don't read it. But if you do, leave a review. Max and the gang meet four people with wings. They can't remember their pasts. They have strange abilities. And they're not from the School. Duringish 3rd book. Figgy Fax OC/OC
1. Collision Course Meetings

**Summary:** This story is set duringish book 3. In this story the flock meet some very strange and very crazy mutants. And guess what! They can fly too! Hilarity of course ensues and definitely ramdomness. But as the flock get closer to these people they learn of a horrible secret that is likely going to determine the fate of the world if they don't survive it. . . and also their sanity.

On the OCs: There's three and even though they may _seem S_ue-ish trust me when I say that they're not. At all. They are based off of real people I know. Who live at the bottom of the high school social hierarchy. And love it. They look beautiful because they project their inside beauty to the outside. Also some of the events/conversations/ect that happens in this story have actually happened in real life. My real life. A lot of this story is exaggerated though when it comes to how the OCs act. But then again a lot of it isn't. ... i'm done now! :)

Thanx for listening if you did actually read my rant/summary. Just felt that I needed to put that there to clear up some confusion.

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Okay so this is Jaded Expression of Euphoria. I used to be known as Infinitive Insanity and if you visit my profile you would know this. Or if you are subscribed to me than you know I have been writing for Naruto. Most if not all of you don't know me but I had to write this. It's gonna be totally awesome hilarity on ice. Yeah! Messing with stuff is so fun.

Disclaimer: JP owns MR. I'm just borrowing the characters for the pure fun of it.

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I. Love. Flying. Others dream about and I get to experience it! Really, it's great . . . having to fly through a cloud, not so much. So there we were, six mutant bird-kids facing cloud cover that extended for miles.

"Do we seriously have to go through _this_?" Gazzy questioned, motioning toward the upcoming mass of grey wetness.

"Well-" I began before I was cut off.

"Yeah? Like really? I mean like it would be really cool to fly through one but like wouldn't we get really wet and cold and stuff? Cuz I know that clouds aren't all like fluffy and totally don't squash together like marshmallows. I love how marshmallows make that squishy noise when you eat them. Why are smores called "smores?" I mean who came up with that an-"

"Nudge?" I said firmly.

"Yeah Max?" she answered perkily.

"_Please_ be quiet and let me think for minute."

_Go through._

Two words coming from the most annoying thing in my world, the voice that was literally in the back of my head.

'What?! Are you crazy? I was planning on landing until it passed.'

_Go through. Trust me, things lie in await when you soar in the clouds._

'That makes no sense. What would await me in a bunch of clouds?'

No answer of course.

"Okay guys. Let's go," I said to my flock.

"I can't believe we're flying through a cloud." Iggy muttered from behind me.

"Not _a_ cloud Ig." Fang explained, hovering at my right. "The belly of a beast."

So onward we pressed.

* * *

We'd only been flying through the mass of dreary damp grey for fifteen minutes before we all started getting the feeling of being watched. But I guess that would be normal with the foggy clouds making it difficult to see more than a wingspan around.

"Max," Iggy and Angel said at the exact same moment. Whoa, just too weird (unless Angel was controlling his mind, but I don't see why she would do that right now).

"Go Ig," I called as if I were a teacher calling on a student with a raised hand.

"I hear something. " He stated in a frowning tone. "Almost like wing beats. But not any of ours."

I thought about that before asking, "Erasers?"

"No. One is . . . fluttery. Maybe. I can't tell if it's actually there." Iggy informed me, sounding unsure of himself. "The other two are sweeping. They . . . They both make me think of bats but . . . I don't know. Neither sounds exactly like a bat's wing beat."

Well that was strange. Iggy could practically hear anything within a silent one mile radius. Even the sneakiest person couldn't get by him. So why couldn't he figure this one out? I had no clue.

"Angel?"

"I hear something too, Max. Thoughts, but only of two people. One is really jumbled like it can't concentrate on one thing for a certain amount of time. This person is a girl. The other only lets certain thoughts out. It's like there's a block around this one's mind. It's a guy and Max, he keeps repeating the name 'Gabe.'"

Angel was frowning by the end of her explanation, confused about something or other.

"I don't get it Max. The thoughts keep getting louder."

Louder?

* * *

"Max! Watch out!" Two voices yelled frantically.

There was a scream, flesh hitting flesh, and the sound of air whistling past something falling, fast.

"Max!" Five other voices screamed in unison.

One boy and one girl didn't see what had just happened but knew their friend just did something stupid. Boy looked at girl. Girl rolled her eyes at boy.

"We should follow her." Girl said.

"I guess." Boy sighed.

And both pulled in their wings, plummeting toward the ground.

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**AN:** So this is the end of the first chapter of a new story. Yeah, so plz review. And flames are welcome. Seriously. No one has flamed me yet. Brownies with caramel for my first flamer. Reviewers will get baskets of assorted toys and sugary treats. And snow cones!

Sorry it's short and sorry I'm being a little quick and to the point. I just really wanted to get this chapter out by tonight. And if you are reading this please take a couple seconds to just send me a review. Please :D

Jaded Expression


	2. Clash of the Maxes

**Jaded Expression: **Okay so this is the second chapter even though I didn't get any reviews yet (for which I'm assuming that nobody is too far into it to review yet). Some questions one might have from the first chapter will be answered in this one and we will _finally_ know the boy and girl's names. Sorry about not seeming too enthusiastic. I just kinda feel a little rejected. I'd feel a little happier if I got reviews and things at home didn't suck.

. . . Anyway! Here's another chapter! Be sure to review to lighten my day!

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The flock landed in the forest hidden below only to find Max fighting with another girl. The other girl was blonde, dishrag blonde, and she was dodging everything Max was throwing at her. If Max kicked out she blocked with two arms to the side. If Max threw a punch she'd just brush it aside. And everyone could see it was really frustrating her.

"Hey, you're pretty good." The blonde girl said to Max. "But I got something cooler." And she jumped backwards away from the fearless leader of the flock, her toes sliding through fallen pine needles and dirt. When she stopped she reached into her pocket . . .

and pulled out a box of candy.

"Twizlers and Dots!"

At that moment Nudge looked up after hearing an almost hysterical laugh. She gasped at what she saw, for falling from the grey sky were two dark shapes. They whizzed through the air going way too fast way too close to the ground. Nudge screamed fearfully as she realized that the two people were falling headfirst approaching the ground without slowing at all. This drew the attention of everyone who looked to where she was staring. The flock's eyes all were as wide as saucers.

Fifty yards from hitting the ground the person falling ahead of the other reached out for a thick tree branch, swung around it and used the momentum to right himself. Before touching down he did a perfect flip and landed silently in a crouch.

To the boy's left and behind him a girl flipped in the air and landed with one foot touching down first. She came out of this perfect landing in a slow walk, her slender legs making graceful strides until she was standing next to the boy.

"She's beautiful," Nudge breathed out in awe. Angel agreed with a quiet "Yeah."

The boy jerked his head up to look at the dark skinned girl. His yellow-green eyes, rimmed with black eyeliner, scanned the gathered audience around him. His black hair was hanging in his face in strands and locks. He stood up, putting one hand in his pocket and letting his head fall slightly back and to one side.

And standing next to each other the flock realized that the two were amazingly beautiful.

The girl was tall and slender. She had a strange pattern that involved what looked to be a flower that was designed in India and black fire tattooed down her arm from her shoulder. Her shoes were simple, white sneakers. Well, it looked like they used to be white for now every color of the rainbow adorned them.

She wore a pair of royal blue sweat-shorts that barely came down far enough to cover her ass and a flowing red halter-top. Her chest was quite . . . prominent Fang couldn't help but notice. Her light brown hair was cut short, shorn only to her chin and shorter as you moved to the back of her head so that by the time you stood behind her, her hair was only long enough to touch the base of her skull.

The boy was shorter than the girl but his jet black hair was longer. It fell sexily down past his chin to brush lightly against his neck. His body was thin like a girl's and it was all too easy to see the stringy muscles because of the black wifebeater he wore that clung to his torso. On his legs he wore a pair of baggy black jeans. Around his hips what looked to be a black shirt was tied. Only the toes of his shoes could be seen, poking out from underneath his pants. The shoes were tan colored.

While Fang was noticing the girl's enormous chest (pissing Max off) and Iggy was frowning confusedly and Gazzy was standing next to Iggy with his sister on the other side of him, Nudge was counting piercings.

The brunette girl had a sparkling purple stud in her nose and golden hoops in her ears. The boy on the other hand had several. There was a black spiral with spikes on each end going through his lip, two shiny, blood red studs in his left earlobe, and farther up in the cartilage three black ball-studded not-quite-closed circles. Through his right eyebrow was a simple silver barbell with rainbow balls on each end.

Then she looked to the blonde girl who had run into Max. The girl wore the most make-up but the least amount of piercings. From what Nudge could see the blonde only had her left eyebrow pierced.

It was awkward and silent for the longest time but it seemed that this awkwardness didn't reach or affect the three new kids.

Then the boy sighed boredly.

"Okay, since none of you want to fight us can we just take our ditz and go?" He questioned in a lazy drawl, looking each of the flock members in the eye. He raised an eyebrow, the pierced one, and muttered something that almost had every one of the flock members kicking his ass.

"Not like you could win anyway."

"Like heck we couldn't," Max growled and fell into a fighting stance. The dark boy just gave her an amused glance that seemed to piss everyone in the flock off more. Iggy was scowling in his direction and practically all of the other flock members were glaring dagger as if looks could kill. Which was exactly what Max had been thinking.

"Where we come from, they do." The big-chested girl deadpanned. Before her eyes had been closed but now one was open, looking straight at Max. Green pierced through Max's defenses and made her doubt herself. Just as a single, maliciously beautiful eye had paused her breathing it closed and Max was released, and the girl cheerfully called out to the blonde girl who had been standing silently and looking all too innocently cute for one her age. (Which was mid-teens.)

"Come here Ditz. We're gonna blow this popsicle stand."

The blonde girl scampered over acting like a lost puppy that had been found, but this illusion was ruined with the evil smirk adorning her face. The three of them then brushed past the flock and started toward the trees at the edge of the very tiny clearing they had had to land in.

The flock turned to Max waiting for instructions but she wasn't looking at any one of them. The leader of the five sighed heavily and finally turned to them.

"We can't let them leave," she said, gaining some strange looks from her flock members. There was a minute of silent contemplation before Max started doing was she did best and lead the way after the three strange kids. She called out to them but received no answer. Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy followed Max but Iggy and Fang hesitated uncertainly.

"Come on guys."

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"Worried?" The brunette girl questioned while sideways examining the frowning boy walking next to her. The blonde girl was following closely behind them, listening in and knowing if there was a person to get David to talk it was Gabe. The black haired boy was looking down at the ground with his hair almost completely shielding his face. None of them responded to the shout from behind them.

"About what?" He asked confusedly, still staring down.

"Lindsay, his safety . . . and yours when he gets back." She added as an afterthought. David caught the implications in her words and chose to ignore them.

"It's just . . ." The boy began, confessing the thoughts plaguing his mind. "Gabe, we passed checkpoint two day's ago _after_ waiting there for a week, hoping he would show up. Do you think he does it on purpose?"

"Yes David, he loves torturing you," David raised his eyebrow when Gabe paused for _effect._ "By not being punctual. The devil forbid that he be a day late." She finished with sarcasm. "But what about your ass?"

"Fuck off," David muttered moodily. Behind them the blonde began to sing.

"David is so screwed! David is so screwed! David is so screwed! David is so scre-"

She was cut off when someone spun her around. She acted on instinct and punched the person in the face. It was the girl from before, the one she ran into. She looked painfully surprised as she rubbed her right cheek.

"I try to talk to you and you punch me in the face?!" She yelled angrily at the other blonde girl, who scratched the back of her head with a smile.

"Heh, sorry about that. I couldn't help it. It's practically instinctual when someone startles me." The blonde stated cheerfully. The other girl's group had surrounded her protectively while the puncher's friends kept on walking.

_'Some support.'_ Max thought, looking at the girl's friends.

"Max," David called over his shoulder as he walked.

"What?" Both blondes responded. David stopped.

"_Maxine_." He called backward again, putting stress on the word. The ditzy blonde was on him in an instant, throwing a punch at the back of his head. The next second David was couching on the ground and Maxine was flat on her back. He stood up.

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed starting to laugh. Maxine was pouting. "Anko-sensei was right. Your eyes were wide open!"

"Shut the hell up David!" The grounded blonde yelled at the black haired boy now comically rolling around in the dirt. "And you, you stupid author! Stop writing my full name! My name is Max! Max! MAX! MAX! MAX!!"

"Hold up," Fang demanded with amusement. "Your name is Max?"

"Yeah so . . ." Max(ine) said calmly, strange because of previous screaming.

"Crazy," breathed Fang.

"What?" Iggy asked from where he was standing next to Fang.

"Our Max and their Max both have the same name and they're both blonde." The usually silent teen explained to the blind one.

"Uncanny." Iggy commented.

"Oh and they're both flat chested!" added Gabe, trying not to laugh. Both Maxes glared. David's laughter doubled. Seconds later he went into a coughing fit from choking on air(1). He shot up into a sitting position, coughing madly with watering eyes.

"It's raining," Gabe informed everyone once David had calmed down.

"No it's not." Nudge had said just before water spilled from the sky in chilling sheets.

David and Max(ine) immediately snapped out their wings and brought them over their heads like umbrellas. Gabe sought refuge from the cold rain under the span of David's larger wings.

Each member of the flock just stared wide-eyed at the two with their wings out. Max(ine) had bat wings, not particularly strange, but they were _hot pink_!

David's wings were just a sight of frightening beauty. They were black and membranic like a bat's but red bled throughout the membrane like vines. They crisscrossed and branched out. Max(imum)'s jaw actually dropped when she realized they were blood vessels. That wasn't all though. The wings were huge compared to his height and they were spiked.

"Are you just going to stand there?" David yelled at them over the loud rain.

It was then that they realized he had extended one of his wings, along with one of Max(ine)'s, to provide them with shelter. The flock was quickly shepherded under the protection.

And they stood like that for several hours, waiting out the rainstorm. It was dark before the water was only coming down in occasional drips.

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(1) – it can actually happen cuz it has happened to me several times. And each time I just ended up laughing harder.

yawn The end of another chapter and I hope I get some form of feedback on this one. I feel so tired. yawn I really need to stop eating my food so fast. LOL Note to self: always have soda with you when you eat. I hope you all like the length of this chapter. Feel free to review, or flame if that's your thing. I'm going to take a nap now. yawn Luvs, :3

PS i won't review anymore until you right with the wrongs. . . wait uh o.o; I meant to -yAAwn- say I won't write until you guys review. Yeah that was it. . .

Jaded Expression

ZZZzzzzzzz.z.z.z.z.z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...


	3. Crazy

**Jaded Expression:** So this is the next chapter. Thanx for the scant reviews, they made me happy. :D A special thanx goes out to **StaringGreyEyes** for believing I was normal in any sort of way. Seriously, no sarcasm. I hope she got her brownie. And I also thank **michala** for the encouragement to keep writing. ;P You rock. Also a special shout out to my internet twin **Insanity's Twin.** Yaoi rulz!

Now I know the story is kinda slow but it will speed up and get better. Trust me . . . O.o

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With a heavy sigh David fell onto his ass in between his two best friends sitting around the campfire the blind kid had started. He was the last to do so after lashing alive, and fallen, branches together as a roof, protection against the rain that might come in the night. He fell onto his back with a huff and a yawn.

"I'm done."

"It took you long enough." Fang said from his place next to Max on the opposite side of the campfire. Everyone had eaten already, scarfing down whatever was in his or her backpacks.

"David's a perfectionist." The other Max said innocently with a not so innocent smile teasing her lips. David grunted from his position on the ground.

"Am not. I half-ass everything."

"Fine. You're a half-assed perfectionist." The ditzier Max corrected cheerfully. The black-haired boy would have glared at her if he weren't so lazy.

"Don't cuss." Maximum commanded, glaring at them.

"Yeah well," David said as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Maxine joined in on the next words she knew her friend would say.

"Fuck, fuck, fukity, fuckfuckfuck!"

Fang, Iggy, and Maximum had quickly covered the shorter flock member's ears and their eyes widened at the two's extremely foul language. The three non-flock members laughed.

"Chill out," David said between snickers. "They're just words."

"Bad words." Max stated, uncovering Angel's ears.

"Explain how they're bad." David demanded with a smug smile, knowing she wouldn't be able to.

He was right and seeing that, he fell back onto the ground. A simple silence extended past the conversation. Why, you might ask, is it a "simple" silence? Well, the answer to that is simply simple, because it was simply not uncomfortable and nor was it comfortable but it was _almost_ normal and simply simple. Then David spoke.

"Max," he whined pathetically. Maximum immediately looked up but didn't answer. "I can't get this song stuck outta meh head."

"Sing the part that's bugging you," the other Max ordered with boredom. David sat up with a pout that he was having trouble holding in place due to the smirk twitching at his lips.

"'Rolling dice and seeming queer, bastard love a sick affair

Let's see what new disease you'll fetch

I mean that fucking you is strange and adored by me throughout

Oh no it's you again blessing you with every kiss

So precious you know this hate of mine exploded

I'm so deranged you know I will never be the same . . ." David sang, wanting to laugh at the disgusted look on Maximum's face. Fang looked pretty indifferent, ruling out his twitching eye, and Iggy looked almost curious. Max seemed interested now.

"That's Stitches by Orgy. Where did you hear that song?" She asked wonderingly.

"I have it. On the computer."

"Seriously!?" Maxine squealed _extremely_ loud. David jumped, falling sideways into Gabe's lap.

"_Ou-ouch_!" He yelled at her. "Fangirl much?!"

"Uh, David. I know that you really don't swing that way and even though I don't mind having your head in my lap, it's kinda hurting in all the wrong places." Gabe commented flatly, her eyes giving away the only emotion in what she said. David immediately jerked his body away from Gabe then realized Max was giving him the same look she was.

"I hate being around two girls who are older than me and really hormonal." He whimpered pathetically. "I wish Lindsay was here."

"But David," Max began in a silken, seductive voice, leaning closer to David.

"Then you'd be stuck with two hormonal teenage girls that are older than you _and_ your sex-deprived boyfriend." Gabe purred, moving closer so that the poor boy was trapped between the two hormonal teenage girls. David looked close to terrified tears.

Maximum looked extremely disgusted, and . . . a little turned on. She glanced over at Fang to see him watching with wide eyes and his jaw hanging down, only slightly. Iggy face was scrunched up into an indecipherable emotion, not knowing all of the facts with being blind and all. The younger kids all looked both completely shocked and really embarrassed.

Then the two girls placed both of their faces into David's neck as their bodies shook violently. They all fell backwards onto the ground, laughing uncontrollably. It was loud and raucous and everyone felt even more confused then they had before in the presence of the three.

"Did you see the looks on their faces?" David cried out as he rolled on to his side, laughing so hard tears were coming to his eyes. The flock just stared at them, waiting for their laughter to die down. David was the first to stop.

"Hey Max," he said. Two voices surprisingly answered.

" . . ."

" . . ."

"We need to fix that." He told them, gazing at the light from the fire dancing between the tree branches above him. Maxine shot upwards and bounced around, madly waving her arms.

"Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know! I know! Pick me! Me, me, memememememememe . . ." She continued on in that fashion until Gabe got annoyed, sat up, and smacked her on the back of the head. Max immediately stopped in favor of rubbing the back of her head pathetically.

"What about Max one and Max two?" She suggested, ignoring the death glare that Maxine was giving her. "Don't deny you want me." She said and Max quickly turned around, blushing madly.

"That's taken," the little blonde dude said, looking at Gabe strangely. Then he looked at Maximum and asked her an extremely awkward question.

"What does 'wanting' someone mean? And cuz it's bugging me, what does 'or-gee' mean?"

Maximum Ride had never been asked to explain something like that, and even though she knew full well what each meant, she chose to just turn bright red and stutter incoherently. David laughed.

"So the little blonde dude hasn't been taught about the birds and the bees." (A/N: in the sycamore trees! Ye-eah! Ye-eah!)

Gazzy paled.

"That's right kid. 'Wanting someone' and 'orgies' apply to sex-"

Maximum pounced on the boy and began shaking him angrily. But David just kept grinning.

"Don't tell him things like that." She growled.

"Why?" He asked her sassily. Max shook him harder before pulling back a fist. That's when Fang grabbed her and pulled her off of the laughing boy.

"He's too young." Maximum yelled.

"How old are you little dude?" David question Gazzy.

"I'm eight and my name's not little dude. It's Gazzy."

"Well I think he's old enough to know." David said to Maximum.

"How did we get onto this subject?" Maxine inquired, glancing around. Gabe was the one to answer.

"We were talking about how we'll tell you two apart when Gazzy asked Maximum what some of the dirty things we talked about meant. Maximum got pissed and attacked David and Fang had to pull her off."

"How did you know his name was Fang?" Iggy interrogated, knowing that no one had said the dark teens name.

"Gabe knows all," the ditz informed him.

"I know!" David exclaimed. Everyone gave him a "WTF?" look. "When any one of us," he motioned toward himself and his two best friends. "Say Maxi as a name we're talking about Maximum. But when you guys say it you're referring to Maxine. That way we can still call our Maxes Max without everyone being confused about which one we're talking about cuz the opposite Max will always be Maxi."

Silence. Cricket. The fire crackling.

"I actually understood that." Maxine stated while pointing at David. The members of the flock were all in different stages of understanding the confusing sentences that came from David's confusing brain. Finally Maximum changed the subject.

"That reminds me," she looked at the three insane teens suspiciously. "We haven't introduced ourselves."

"Too true," David said with a smirk.

"I'll start. I'm Maximum Ride, and I 'm an avian-human hybrid. We all are. I'm fourteen and the leader of my flock."

"Fang. Fourteen. Second in command."

"I'm Iggy. I'm blind. I'm fourteen and in the cooking slash explosives department."

"Gazzy. Eight. I work with Iggy." And he smiled mischievously.

"Okay so like my name is Nudge and for a short amount of time when we were in school it was Tiffinay-Krystal and it was so cool. I'm eleven and it's like really cool sometimes but it also means I'm categorized with less mature kids. But I guess that's cool too, and well yeah, that's all."

David had developed an eyebrow twitch by the end of the monologue and Gabe felt the need to comment.

"She talks faster than Max on a coffee high."

Maxine sweatdropped.

"I'm Angel. I'm only six-years-old but I don't mind. Gazzy is my brother and this is Celeste," She held up a stuffed bear with wings. "And this is Total." She poked the black furry thing in her lap. It raised its head and looked at the three un-introduced kids. It blinked blearily and spoke.

"'Sup." The three weren't affected. The dog went back to sleep.

"Okaaaay . . . So, I'm Maxine but I absotively posolutely hate my name so everyone just calls me Max. I have three close friends and I'm bi. Uhh . . . I have bat wings and they're pink because I pissed off Gabe. Yeah . . . good times. Oh! And I'm sixteen."

"Ditz." Silence. " . . . . . I'm Gabe. It's short for Gaberiella. Don't touch my urn. Fifteen. Also bi."

"Sigh. David, just David. I'm fourteen. Max and Gabe are my closest friends. I'm gay and I have a boyfriend. He's not with us at the moment. And . . . AN CAFÉ RULZ!"

"Whoohoo!" Max shouted throwing her fists into the air. The flock gave the two strange looks.

"So where are you guys from?" Fang asked in a monotone.

"Uhh more specific." Maxine said doing shifty eyes.

"We were created in the School. Where did you guys come from?"

There was an awkward, tense silence and the longer it lasted the angrier it got.

"I knew it. Are they trying to get more undercover agents close to us? Are you a newer from of Eraser? I bet you're supposed to lead us somewhere just like Max's clone was. I'm sick of them trying to play games with us!" Fang yelled and accused. Before he could start again though, David interjected.

"We don't know. None of us do. We have no memory of life before we met each other. Max was ten, Gabe was nine, and I was eight. The only hints we have are constant nightmares, most we never recall after we wake up. So don't be accusing us of things we know nothing about." The black-haired boy explained, speaking heavily. His voice was calm but there was definitely undecipherable hidden emotion in the tone.

David reached for his hot pink backpack and pulled out a black computer from Apple, a pair of Panasonic clip-on headphones were plugged into the headphone jack. He put those on, opened the computer, and removed a baby blanket from the bottom of the bag. Muffled music blared from the headphones and David was lost to the world.

Things were quiet and uncomfortable until one by one each person fell asleep, curled up with their respective groups, and David was the only one left awake. At four in the morning he shut down the computer and also joined his friends in the land of nightmarish dreams.

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**Jaded Expression:** Well another chapter is finished. I hope you all enjoyed this one maybe just a little bit more than the "dull" other two. My neck hurts. I need to clean my room. I have homework. But it's Labor Day so I have nothing to worry about.

Plz review you peoples. It seriously only takes like two seconds. Two seconds of your life to make an author happy. Would you just click. And flamers are still welcome. But if me saying that ruins your fun than I hate flamers.

PS I think this is my favorite chapter so far.

Byes! :)


	4. Below Zero

**Jaded Expression:** I feel like crap. I've got a . . . … . . . you know, I don't really know. All I know is that I've been to see the doc and he gave me antibiotics. My throat hurts, I'm coughing, and I can't breath. I hate fire and I hate rain! I hate being sleepy and not being able to just pass out!!

_**Side note:**_ Uhh chapters will be coming out later bcuz of school but keep reviewing and hopefully I'll get them out faster. Thank you reviewers out there!

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"Wow. Your lives suck." Maxine commented after hearing the flock's ten-minute life story. David had a pink ipod out and was listen to music. He had already learned their story from the blog that Fang kept. And Gabe, well she knew all.

As a group, the nine were flying westward-ish, not really having a sense of direction. All sense of previous flock formation had disappeared when they took to the air with three more than usual. Total ended up getting stuck in the jacket of the ever-so friendly Fang. The air was warm and the sky was clearing, and everything had a sense of feeling right with the world. But unbeknownst to the serene atmosphere a sharing of troubled thoughts and emotions were silently relayed between two friends.

'Calm down, David. I'm sure we'll see him soon.'

'But Gabe . . . He-he . . .'

'He's never been this late before. I know'

'sigh. song change'

'David I know you're upset because you two have grown close but seriously. You're acting way to emo. Just stop thinking about him for a while. Forget him-'

'What!'

'And just relax. Ten to one he's fine and just picked up your habit of procrastination.'

'Thanks. Blame it all on me.'

'David, it _is_ all your fault.'

'You're right. Now praise me!'

'eye roll'

'Fine I'll quit worrying if I get something in return.'

'Normally I would think you were trying to con me, but I feel your pain so I know you're just-'

'Taking advantage of the situation.'

'What do you want?'

'Below zero.'

'No.'

'We're going to anyway. Ha ha-ha ha ha haaaaaa!'

Then Gabe was blocked from David's mind with his mocking thought laugh ringing in her . . . mind? He tuned into the conversations going on around him after turning off his ipod and putting it into his back pocket. The conversations were dull and unimportant so the black-haired boy felt no regrets when he interrupted them with a,

"Hey bitches! We're landing."

And without waiting for anyone to contest his decision he fell backwards and was free falling with his black wings tucked securely in. He eventually ended up falling headfirst like before and placed his arms below him to slice through the air above his head. It made his drag less and his speed increased. His eyes slid closed. Emotions and thoughts were blown away and replaced with adrenaline. He fell like that, losing himself in the experience, only opening his eyes at the exact moment he was to right his body and land.

Max and Gabe were next to land, having followed David immediately. Gabe touched down with her graceful finesse and invisible wings. Max's feet touched the ground first but that doesn't mean she didn't land on her ass in the end. Gabe was just casually smacking her on the head when the flock landed, their wings billowing out like parachutes.

"You listen to the youngest one in your group?" Maximum questioned them skeptically.

"And the shortest." Maxine said, putting an arm on David's head like a leaning post. The boy scowled. "Besides, he's also the smartest. Cuz even though Gabe knows all doesn't mean she has a mind like David's."

"I'm glad about that one," Gabe commented from where she was leaning against a tree. "Who wants to think like David. I mean," She smiled evilly. "He _is_ the uke."

"Why did we land?" Gazzy demanded, interrupting the conversation that was headed into the sycamore trees. (1) He looked from Maximum, his trusted and fearless leader, to David, the gay freak who like to talk about shudder sex.

"Because I need to locate the nearest city." David explained while pulling out his computer.

"Why?" Angel asked this time.

"We're going partying."

David smirked while Maxine squealed.

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"Oh come on!" Maxine exclaimed, standing outside a changing room in a small store in a mall. David, Gabe and the flock minus Max where there too.

"You'll stick out like a thorn in a pillow if you don't wear it. Everyone dresses like that where we're going."

"You really will Maxi," David said sweetly, hearing Gabe snicker behind him.

'They use that term on tampons and pads David.' She said to him through their mental connection.

'I know. But they don't and Max won't get it.' He responded huffily in his head. Then he continued out loud, talking to the girl who refused to come out of the dressing room.

"Everyone will look at you funny, like a _freak_. They'll point at you and try to talk to you and then the whole club will stare at you-"

The changing room door swung inwards and Maximum stepped out in a temper, hands balled into fists at her side and a glare pasted to her face. Collective gasps filled the area around her and several jaws actually dropped. Maxine and David high-fived.

Maximum was wearing a shimmery, powder blue, long-sleeve shirt that showed off her belly and lower back. Her fingers were nervously playing with the bell-bottom sleeve-ends. She also had on a Japanese-schoolgirl-uniform-inspired-skirt that was navy blue with silver sparkles. Knee high boots with an excess of zippers adorned her feet nicely and showed off her long legs. All that needed to be done was hair and make-up.

"Wow Max, you look . . ." Angel began in awe.

"Fantabulous!" Nudge finished excitedly with oversized sparkles in her eyes.

"I think the skirt is too small." She said, placing one hand on her hip. "And the shirt won't cover up my wings sufficiently."

David clicked his tongue in a very pink(2) way and made an exaggerated motion with his hand before placing it on his hip like Maxi.

"Okay first of all, No. It's. Not. It's supposed to be uncomfortably short. It's a Japanese-schoolgirl-uniform skirt. Try wearing one that just barely covers your ass before complaining. And second: Nobody cares about your wings. We do it all the time."

By the time he had finished he had made a complete gay fool of himself. Max was laughing behind her hand, Gabe was snickering silently, and David just looked extremely confused.

"Can someone tell me why I just did that?" He said while throwing his hands into the air, completely fed up with himself.

"You're just falling into the gay-American-stereotype." Gabe explained while Max openly laughed.

"Well I might as well finish what I started," and he turned back to Maxi, snapping his fingers in a 'Z' formation. "You're going to in that or else bitch."

"So who's next?" Gabe asked and looked around at the people, gathered basically against their will. "David would never pass up the chance to play dress-up with six more people."

Nudge and Angel cheered but the guys and Total looked pale.

"What is Max wearing" Iggy inquired, looking at Fang even though he's blind.

"A powder blue shirt and a dark blue mini-skirt. With sparkles." Fang told Iggy with disgust.

"What do you think they'll do for us?" Ig questioned with terror.

"I don't know and I don't want to."

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-meanwhile in the conspiratorial minds of three-

'It's kinky.'

'It's _hot_!'

'_I_ like it.'

'You would David. You thought of it.'

'Shut up Gabe. At least I'm not the one who has pictures of Max in various titillating costumes as my screen saver.'

'You have pictures of me in what costumes!?'

'I'm going to kill you David.'

'Then Lindsay would kill you and Max would kill Lindsay and end up all by herself. . . That reminds me, are we going to perform?'

'Hell yes, David!'

'Maybe. We'll just have to see what happens.'

'Why must you ruin our fun Gabe?'

'Cuz I like to Babe. But we'll still wear costumes.'

'By the way there's nothing you guys can say to change my mind. I'm going to do it.'

'Just don't come crying to me when they run after you with scissors.'

'That's it. We're going to perform Running with Scissors.'

'Sweet . . . Hot . . . Keen-kay!' (kinky)

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"You have a dirty, dirty mind David." Gabe said as she examined the gathered teens all stuck in the elevator. They were headed into club area of Below Zero, a nightclub for teens designed by teens. It had been easy enough to skip the long line and get in seeing as the bouncer knew Maxine, Gabe, and David. Now they were all riding in an elevator making it's descent underground.

Maximum was wearing what she had worn at the store but now her hair was up in a messy bun with a couple stray locks of hair framing her face. Black thinly underlined her eyes and lip-gloss shined on her lips.

Fang and Iggy were the cause of the comment though.

Iggy looked almost normal in a dark green shirt that clung to his torso in all of the right places and a pair of tight jeans hanging low on his hips, showing off the black waistband of his boxers. Checkered vans poked out from underneath the bottoms of his jeans. The only really weird thing about his costume was the black, silver studded cuff around his left wrist. A thick, silver chain hung down from it and if you followed it you'd find a matching collar around Fang's neck.

Fang was the main reason for the comment. Alone his costume didn't make sense but standing next to Iggy everything clicked.

He wore the collar like a dog and from the front of it a dog tag with his name in black letters dangled onto his collarbone. A pair of clip on dog-ears complete with floppy tips was hidden in the mess of his hair. Heavy black make-up artistically surrounded his eyes to make the vision of a dog complete.

A black wifebeater with the words, "Guide Dog" was stuck to him like static cling, looking almost like a second skin. Baggy black shorts were cinched around his hips with a tye-dye(3) bandanna tied in a knot on his right side. Black combat boots completed the outfit.

Kinky was definitely what everyone was going to think of the conjoined costume.

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, the six piled out and the only flock members present were in a state of shock. They stood on an enormous balcony that overlooked the dance floor of the club. In the back were tables and the bar where non-alcoholic beverages were being served to the teenagers.

David immediately stepped off to the side recognizing another bouncer. He hiked up his backpack and approached the buff dude.

"Sup Chicken-shit," he greeted, slapping the blonde dude's hand in a handshake.

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" asked the bouncer as he hugged David.

"Nope. If you can't stand up to a bunch of harmless, innocent girls than you're worse than a chicken shit. And until you _do_ stand up to those girls than I will never stop calling you that."

"'Those girls' were neither harmless nor innocent, David. Any fangirl that you attract has to be poisoned in the brain. Did I mention they were fangirls? And they weren't a 'bunch of girls' they were a mob. Some screaming about having your babies or demanding to watch you and Lindsay. They were prepared to rape you, David. You can't blame me for running."

"You're still a chicken-shit."

"By the way, you might want to turn around for a second."

David frowned but did so anyway. Then a spotlight fell upon him along with Max an Gabe. The voice of the DJ rang out through the club and the three practically turned green.

"Look who decided to make an appearance and grace us with their presence! Simply Stupid!"

Several groups of fangirls and fanboys were flocking their way up the stairs in rushed, stumbling steps, all trying to be the first to reach the band. Maximum, Fang, and Iggy looked on in shock and fear as Maxine, Gabe, and David backed up into one another. They looked trapped and completely terrified. Cuz they were.

Fans meant no escape.

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"I'll get him back for that." David repeated for the fifth time in promise. He leaned closer to mirror in the girls' bathroom to apply eyeliner. _All_ three of them were in the girls' bathroom because David had been banned from ever entering a boys' one after an . . . incident. Plus it was easier than setting up a dressing room.

"Jay is such an ass," Max said as she tugged on one of her blonde pigtails, examining her reflection.

"Ditto." Gabe agreed as she miraculously pulled out several pairs of clothing from a small black urn. A ribboned outfit was one.

She disappeared into one of the stalls right when a young girl with red hair walked into the bathroom and froze after seeing David. She must have just turned thirteen to not know that David always used the girls' bathroom.

"Go to the bathroom. I know all of the female body parts and I'm gay." The black-haired boy said tonelessly. The girl blushed and ran into the closest stall.

"How do I look?" David asked tuning to the girl next to him. She carefully smudged black kohl under her eyes to make them look shadowed.

"Hot enough for a lip-singing concert." Max told him emotionlessly. He scowled, feeling like he'd been stepped on. For some reason he always wanted the blonde's approval even though he knew he didn't need it.

Besides, he thought he looked pretty damn hot in a black, zipped up hoodie and baggy, pink velour pants. Then he saw his favorite hat in the pile of clothing from Gabe's Urn. It looked just like the one of Miyavi's hat with the word love on it. He pulled it on sideways so the brim shadowed his eye uncovered by hair.

"And now?"

"Better," Max said glancing at him using the mirror. She finished doing her make-up and tugged a hat on over her blonde pigtails, tucking any excess hair up under the brim of the brick red paperboy hat. With the hat on, clashing with her baggy, light brown jacket, she looked just like a man.

"You look way too much like a guy." David commented laughingly. Then in a stage whisper he said. "Gabe's taking forever."

Getting bored he began to loudly click his tongue stud against his teeth. After a couple seconds Max joined in and together they made the most annoying racket ever. This only continued for two minutes.

"Dudes. Quit." Gabe command as she stepped out from the stall. Max and David stared at her in shocking disbelief.

Gabe was wearing a dress similar to the Japanese Gothic Lolita style. The sleeves were black lace that started at her elbow and went to her wrists where they belled out in black satin. The whole dress was black except for the gothic green ribbons tied around her waist and into dangling bows on the skirt, and the layered frill, which was also gothic green, underneath the black top-layer of the skirt. The skirt of the dress only went to mid-thigh and she wore black stockings that almost came far enough up her legs to touch the frilly under-layers of green fabric.

But that wasn't why Max and David were staring though. No they were staring because "I-refuse-to-wear-boots-ever-in-my-life"-Gabe was actually wearing a pair of knee-high, black, lace-up boots with green laces. She glared at them looking fifty times more murderous than her perfected I-Kill-You-All Death Glare X5,000,000.000001.V.09 with two small pigtails on top of her head and the rest of her hair down, and the heavy black makeup around her eyes. On a side note her lips were also gothic green.

David and Max clung to each other in fear.

"Just this one time," she said threateningly. In a way it was a promise that if they told anyone, even though sixty-some teenagers were going to see her in the costume, then they would go through extreme amounts of mental agony. "I want us to match."

Max disentangled David from her person and tuned to Gabe, her perky attitude back in place.

"Damn girl, you look sexy. Do you want something to drink?" Max hinted holding out a water bottle filled with "water." Well it was clear but definitely not water.

"No. No. And whatever you're thinking, NO!" Exclaimed Gabe, pointing at the blood running from Max's nose, the bottle, and then the blonde's head. Max looked completely disheartened. .01 seconds later she was dragging David out of the bathroom shouting.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

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(1) – Reference to previous chapter

(2) – Another term for gay

(3) – I spelled it wrong on purpose

**Jaded Expression:** Originally I was going to have this part be only one long chapter but after some consideration and some slacking, procrastination and thinking, I've decided to split it in half. Yeah, so no steamy limes and molestation until next chapter. Tis going to beh fun tho.

For everyone wondering what happened to the flock in this chapter you find out in the next one.

All of you people who read this and don't review should all thank **Insanity's Twin** my sister from another mister. Without her I probably wouldn't be continuing this. Lovs ya babe!

Review!!

BYE!! :)


	5. Partying Can Get a Little Crazy

**Jaded Expression:** Okay so like this whole week I was thinking "OMK I really need to get the next chapter of this out!" But I felt like crap. Seriously I even took a mental health day and skipped school today. (With my mom's permission. ALRIGHT!) And last week I was all like "OMG wouldn't it be cool if I got the next chapter out." But I was too bent on procrastinating. LOL YAY procrastination!

But I probably procrastinated so much because I was all like "Next time I update I'm going to revamp my profile, add a summary to the first chapter, and change the little summary thing underneath the title." By the way I suggest you all go read that.

Also I hope you liketh this chapter, what with all limey goodness. For my internet twin, cuz she rulz!

**Warnings:** Homosexual content. Nothing too graphic (well for me anyway).

**Disclaimer:** Books still not mine. And the song in the beginning is called Butterfly and it's by Crazy Town. Therefore it is not mine! But the other song at the end is. It's called running with scissors and it was a poem I created. (So wouldn't that make this the disclaiming claimer?) I suggest listening to the Butterfly song for the beginning of this.

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"I'm telling you, they ditched us." Fang commented from his spot leaning against the wall behind Iggy. Max was pacing in front of him, holding her hands behind her back almost protectively, in an attempt to cover her lower back.

"Why would they drag us here and ditch us?" Iggy questioned, following Max's pacing with his ears.

"I don't know? Why would they bring us here to begin with?" Fang shot back irritably. Iggy opened his mouth and then closed it, realizing he couldn't find a suitable retort.

"Can you two just shut up for a couple seconds?" Max asked them calmly under the din of music. The three were silent as the background music dimmed out taking the lights with it. The room was thrown into darkness.

Then a spotlight alighted upon the stage and revealed two boys wearing hats standing with their backs to each other, heads down, about a yard apart. Music started playing, starting with a single loud note on a guitar. Everyone looked to the stage.

The boys turned to face the crowd, looking up in the process, as the vocalist of the song began to sing.

**Come my lady**

**Come come my lady**

**you're my butterfly**

**Sugar. baby**

**Come my lady**

**Come come my lady**

**you're my butterfly**

**Sugar. baby**

The two beckoned the crowd closer first with their right hands, then their left, before pointing outward and making butterflies with their hands. They repeated the actions as the song called for them.

Meanwhile Max's eyes widened in shock when she realized that one of the boys on the stage was actually David. She immediately turned around to inform Fang and Iggy of the discovery. Fang glanced up, finally paying attention to what was going on around him, to see that the boy in black and pink was in fact David. By now though the other boy was lipping the words of the song to the black-haired teen while stepping up behind him. He wrapped his arms around the shorter male and slowly ground his hips into David's ass from behind.

**Such a sexy, sexy pretty little thing**

**Fierce nipple pierce you got me sprung with your tongue ring**

At this line David made a show of slowly licking his lips with half-lidded eyes, his silver tongue stud glinting in the lights beginning to flash spasmodically around them.

**and I ain't gonna lie cause your loving gets me high**

**So to keep you by my side there's nothing that I won't try**

The taller male in the red paperboy hat slowly rolled his hips against David's ass, earning the rapt attention of the three hiding in the background. Practically everyone else in the audience had already been caught when the boy first came up behind David.

**Butterflies in her eyes and looks to kill**

**Time is passing I'm asking could this be real**

**Cause I can't sleep I can't hold still**

**The only thing I really know is she got sex appeal**

The boy fisted his fingers in the clothing on David's chest and left thigh, his whole body pulling the smaller male into his, and the whole time they both kept rhythm with the grinding motion they'd started with. David briefly let his head fall back onto the boy's shoulder before he was spun around and their hips were thrust together. David's body tensed and he threw his head back in faux pleasure.

**I can feel too much is never enough**

**You're always there to lift me up**

**When these times get rough I was lost now I'm found**

**Ever since you've been around**

**You're the women that I want**

**So yo, I'm putting it down.**

The male sang into David's neck, moving up to whisper into his ear. Then he immediately pushed the black-haired teen away causing David to stumble backward. He quickly regained his balance and the two did the motions they had started with to the chorus of the song.

**Come my lady**

**Come come my lady**

**you're my butterfly**

**Sugar. baby**

**come my lady you're my**

**pretty baby ill make your legs shake**

**you make me go crazy**

The boys did the actions, throwing in a couple more moves to correlate with the music before it was David's turn to "sing" to the other boy.

**I don't deserve you unless it's some kind of hidden message**

**to show me life is precious**

**Then I guess it's true**

David grabbed the taller boy by his jacket and pulled him close. His lips moved to the words in the song as they hovered over the boy's pink ones.

**But to tell truth, I really never knew**

**Till I met you... See I was lost and confused**

**Twisted and used up**

The black haired boy rested his head against the older male's chest as he sang, looking extremely pained.

**Knew a better life existed but thought that I missed it**

David forcefully pushed the boy away,

**My lifestyle's wild I was living like a wild child**

danced like he was at a crazy party while pulling his shirt up to reveal his flat stomach,

**Trapped on a short leash paroled the police files**

and was caught by the other boy. David turned around in the other teen's arms and gazed up at him, as if lovingly.

**So yo. what' s happening now?**

**I see the sun breaking down into dark clouds**

**and a vision of you standing out in a crowd.**

After dancing to the chorus again the two horny looking teenage boys turned to each other and both "sang" the next part of the song simultaneously. Their hips were pressed together and grinding to the music. Their hands grabbed at and fisted in each other's clothing, succeeding in thoroughly rumpling the material.

**Hey sugar momma, come and dance with me**

**The smartest thing you ever did was take a chance with me**

**Whatever tickles your fancy**

**Girl it's me and you like Sid and Nancy**

**So sexy...almost evil Talkin' about butterflies in my head**

**I used to think that happy endings were only in the books I read but**

**you made me feel alive when I was almost dead**

Then their faces were moving closer with every lyric in the song until . . .

**You filled that empty space with the love I used to chase**

**and as far as I can see it don't get better than this**

**So butterfly, here is a song and it's sealed with a **_**kiss**_

**and a thank you miss.**

they were furiously kissing with tongue and all.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Max, Fang, and, well not Iggy but he was kept in the loop, saw everything with their awesome-coolio vision of awesomeness. (1) The crowd went wild when the more dominant male groped at David's crotch. Max almost gagged at the homoerotic display of public affection. Unbeknownst to her, Fang blushed (not that he would ever admit to such a thing) and turned his head away.

As the music faded out a mic was thrown from offstage to the tall male in the paperboy hat. He flipped it on while yanking his hat off and throwing it into the crowd. Long blonde hair fell from under the hat in pigtails and he screamed into the microphone in a voice very much like a girl's.

Meanwhile David was stripping his clothing off, throwing his hoodie and pants to the crowd. Max looked away with a scowl as soon as she received a flash of the creamy skin of David's chest.

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"Yeah!" Gazzy yelled as he kicked ass on a video game that involved the illegal racing of vehicles. "I pawn all noobs!" Nudge lifted her head from the picture she was drawing to stare at Gazzy.

"Ten to one he doesn't even know what that means." Total mumbled tiredly from underneath Nudge's table. The abrupt sound of Gazzy's voice having woken him up. Wondering where Angel is? We'll find that out later.

"What does that mean?" Nudge asked the little blonde dude with curiosity. Gazzy shrugged.

"I heard Maxi and David using it."

Nudge rolled her eyes and went back to drawing her picture of the flock in their new outfits.

Now we move to the other side of the Kids' Room where Angel is following around one of the staff members, her cute face screwed up into a frown. The man new what the little girl was trying to do but just kept smiling every time eye contact was established. Angel had been following him around for almost an hour now.

"Why can't I read your mind?!" She finally yelled in frustration. The man just smiled wider and picked her up.

"Because you read books not minds." He responded, playfully throwing here into a pile of beanbag chairs and plush cushions. He continued straightening the room as Angel laid where she had landed and thought about what the beautiful dark skinned man had said.

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"Whaaaaoooooh!" Maxine yelled into the microphone held to her lips. She had shed herself of the guy clothing she had been wearing and was now dressed in a gothic Lolita style dress resembling the girl's who had just stepped up behind a drum set that just randomly appeared on the stage. This girl was obviously Gabe.

But instead of wearing sleeves Max had on a pair of leather, fingerless gloves and her boots were covered in buckles instead of purple lace like the ribbons of her outfit.

David removed his hat to reveal that his black hair had hot pink highlights that matched certain aspects of his outfit. He wore a black wifebeater and a black, long-sleeved button up shirt. It hung off of his shoulders and bunched up at his elbows, revealing the words "My boyfriend's out of town" in suggestive, hot pink letters on his back. His pants were tight, black leather that split down the sides and laced up like a shoe with hot pink ribbon. Underneath the slits anime style mesh clung to his skin.

He picked up a black guitar and draped the strap over his shoulder as Max got the crowd pumped.

"LET'S START THIS PARTEEEEE!" Everyone in the club, even the staff, cheered enthusiastically.

Gabe crashed the cymbals and David started in with his guitar, his playing starting mild then speeding up real quick. Max gripped the microphone in her gloved hands and belted out the lyrics in her Amy Lee inspired voice.

**Walking. Running.**

**Sprinting**

**Trying to get away**

**All these problems**

**Never ending**

**Turn and face them**

**Or run forever**

-

**Forever running**

**Unable to free**

**Just turn around**

**Face this oppressor**

**Overcome the obstacle**

**Just one more time**

-

**Stalking. Pursuing.**

**Hunting**

**Never gonna get away**

**Never see the light of day**

**Still beginning**

**Lose to my face**

**And run forever**

-

**Forever running**

**Never to free**

**Turn yourself around**

**Die by this oppressor**

**Cut your heart out**

**Just one more time**

-

**Glowing darkness**

**Your only hope**

**Fight strong**

**No one to save you**

**Save yourself**

**From running with scissors**

The song finished with a resounding, fading note on David's guitar. All the teens in Below Zero clapped and yelled rambunctiously as several crazy fans had to be restrained. Some pretty disturbing things were shouted out to the band but the three ignored their shouts in favor of smirking triumphantly at Maximum and Fang who were staring in what seemed to be shock. Curious about what the rabid fans of the small band Simply Stupid were shouting? I'll list some things.

-

"OH MY GAWD MAX! MARRY ME!"

"BEAR MY CHILDREN DAVID!"

"LETS HAVE AN ORGY TOGETHER!"

"GABE!" (Not really shocking right? But I mean it's _Gabe_. She's kinda creepy.)

"LETS HAVE HAWT LESBIAN SEX TOGETHER MAX!"

"NO HAVE SEXY STRAIGHT SEX WITH ME MAX!"

"DAVID'S BETTER!"

"LETS HAVE A SMEXY MAN ORGY DAVID! ME AND MY FRIENDS WOULD LOVE YOU FOREVER EVEN MORE!"

"CAN I STALK YOU GABE!?"

O.O; okay so I think you get the gist. Creepy right. Fanboys and fangirls scare me too. -shivers-

The band quickly escaped before their crazy fans began fighting to get to the stage. The DJ used his mad awesomsicle (not mine (2)) music skizlez to distract the rabid teens from mauling the members of Simply Stupid.

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After the performance of Simply Stupid it took quite a while for everyone to settle down again but once it was people were back on the dance floor or sitting at the tables in the back or hanging out at the bar where drinks were served. Everything was non-alcoholic of course. Fang and Max were back to brooding because once again the three who had dragged them there had disappeared. Iggy was completely okay with everything except the volume of the music. But of course one of the brooding teens was brooding about another completely different topic.

Fang, still blushing, was glaring at the back of Iggy's head as if everything that had happened was his fault. Why Iggy? Well because . . . because . . . it was because of their ridiculous outfits! Seriously. How could David, another _male_, dress two guys up in something so naughty? And it didn't help that whenever a group of girls noticed them wolf-whistles always seemed to follow. Even other _guys_ smirked approvingly at them whenever they passed. And Iggy of course knew nothing of it, and that pissed Fang off. He had to endure this torture alone!

And then when Max had almost puked when the two guys on stage (that had turned out to be just Maxi with David) kissed had been to mush to bear. Why? No reason really . . . OKAY! So Fang likes guys too. So what? Yes he still likes girls but for some reason he had been having some pretty "scary" dreams that involved other guys. AND the more he denied that he liked guys the . . . cough steamier the dreams got. The worst had to be the on with Iggy where . . . Well we're not going to go there. Lets just say that Fnick woke up with a little "mess" in his pants. And oh god, that would have been hard to explain if Max had found out.

"Boo." A voice seductively whispered into Fang's ear causing the dark teen to spin around and loose his balance. David laughed his ass off at the look on the winged boy's face, a mixture of surprise, anger, and was that barely concealed horniness? What had that boy been thinking about?

"David!" Maximum screeched abruptly stopping her angry pacing.

"Dance, dance, dance! Let's dance!" Maxine yelled as she ran up pulling Gabe along behind her. The three were still wearing their stage costumes.

"Max there isn't even any good music playing." Gabe practically whined from behind Maxine. David raised his eyebrow skeptically.

"How'd you get her to drink alcohol." He asked.

"Very carefully. . ." Maxine stated suspiciously with a very creepy smile. David's eyebrow twitched.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not . . .But I'll tell you anyway. So first I had some vodka and then thought why not share some with Gabe. wink wink So I put some in my mouth and kiss-"

"I do not want to know!" Maximum screeched loudly while covering her ears.

"I do." Iggy said raising one hand in the air with a smile.

"Sexist pig." Maximum commented, glowering at the blind bird-kid.

"But Maxi, you have to admit it is pretty hot." Max said with an innocent looking pout. Her eyes twinkled evilly in the green strobe lights pulsing throughout the club. Maximum shivered, creeped out by Maxine's gaze.

Right at that moment Tralala by Gunther came on and Maxine spazzed out, grabbing Maximum and rushing onto the dance floor shouting,

"Lets DANCE!"

David grabbed Fang who happened to be the closest person next to him, and ran out onto the floor. Fang in turn dragged Iggy along with the chain that they were connected by. Gabe, being slightly buzzed and pretty turned on from the alcohol, followed with a shrug of her shoulders and a goofy grin.

Maxine immediately pressed their bodies together causing Maximum to place her hands on the other girl's shoulders. The crazy blonde placed her hands on Maximum's hips and rocked their bodies together to the beat of the music. The movement was intimate but not really that naughty and still Maximum blushed and tried to angrily push away the other female.

Maxine sighed with an eye roll and tightened her grip on Maxi's hips, determined to get her to loosen up. She leaned forward and whispered something into Maximum's ear.

"Don't worry about who it is you're dancing with. Just have fun. Let go for once and just dance like no one is watching. The point of this was to cut lose and forget about anything that troubles your mind."

Maximum was NOT convinced and just retorted with a stupid reason why she couldn't.

"We're both girls. That's creepy."

"Wow. I knew you were protected from the world but this is pathetic. It's more normal for a girl to dance with other girls than it is for a girl and a guy to dance together."

"Yeah right. I've watched the TV too ya know. Only lesbians do that." Maximum said scathingly.

"Look around Maxi. You'll find what I'm saying to be true."

Maximum couldn't find the harm in taking a gander at the dancing couples around them, especially if she could say 'I told you so.'

And was surprised to see a group of four of five girls dancing hip-to-hip, laughing and seeming to be having a lot of fun. She scanned the room again, hoping to find something to prove the girl she was practically hanging off of wrong. She found several same-gender dancing, and the really amazing thing was Fang was actually dancing, with _David,_ another _boy_, but he didn't appear to care. And no matter how many times she glanced around, Maximum was unable to prove Maxine wrong.

She turned back to Maxine with a scowl and relented.

Her body began to move to the fast pace of the music and found that she really enjoyed . . . just dancing. Slowly, inch-by-inch, she began to 'let her hair down' and dance with a smile on her face. Her body swayed and she bounced a little, her arms crawled their way up above her head and she swung them around. Maxine laughed and Maximum couldn't help but find herself following.

Meanwhile Fang was being tortured in the stupidest, and most childish sort of way.

"You like him, you love him, you want to be on top of him-" David whispered in a singsong into Fang's ear.

"I do not." Fang retorted angrily, only loud enough for David to hear. The black and pink haired teen laughed breathily, making sure that Iggy (and, well Gabe already knew what they were talking about cuz she's awesome like that, so just Iggy) couldn't hear him.

"So . . ." David whispered close to Fang's ear, his breath dancing much like them across olive-skin. "You don't dream about him? Underneath you?"

"No!" Fang growled, looking up to watch Iggy, his Iggy, dance with the buzzed drummer.

"You've never looked up gay sex on the internet just because you were curious? Hmmm maybe about a certain someone? How it would feel? Nothing?"

"No!"

David smirked knowing he was getting to the taller teen. Side-note: he hated being short.

"Not even when you're alone do you? Everyone's curious. You must have looked at _something_ on the internet. Do you think of him at night? Wake up in a cold sweat because you've been dreaming of him?"

". . .No!"

"I'm touching a nerve aren't I?" David playfully commented. He could _feel_ Fang's blush.

"What do you think?!" Fang snarled.

"I think that in the middle of the night you think of him, replaying the dream you've just had of him. Your hand slowly slides down your body and-" Fang growled in warning but David just smirked and continued.

"Your fingers slip below the waistband of your pants. You imagine it's him touching your body so intimately as the fingers on your other hand moves upward, trailing across your chest, to gently rub a pert nipple."

Fang's anger was rising but David pressed on, even knowing that he was probably going to get his ass kicked for it.

"Your fingers slowly, and a bit unsurely, wrap around your straining erection. You move your hand upward in a agonizing pace as you stroke yourself-."

Fang had snapped. Not from the rage he was trying to use as a cover but from fear, the emotion he was trying to cover. It was a fear that everyone who's had to realize their sexuality while they were a teen felt. The fear of standing out, of possibly being hurt because of who they are, the fear of not being accepted.

But before he could make any move toward punching David in the face another song came on and the dirty-minded teenager was running off to dance with his friends, claiming the song was their special dancing song. The song was Cyclone by Baby Bash. And Fang was stuck with Iggy because Maximum had decided to run along with the other three and dance dirty to the song. And for some strange reason Iggy wanted to dance.

All that could be said about this incident on Fang's part is . . . AWKWARD.

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The club was still in party mode, several tables around the dance floor were occupied, one of them holding Maxine, Gabe, Fang, Iggy, and Maximum, and David was barely hidden in the shadows underneath the stairs. The hanging beads covering the doorway into the hallway of the bathrooms was ten paces to the left of where he was leaning against the wall.

In his right hand he held a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps and the back of his head tapped the wall behind him every time he brought the mouth of the bottle to his pink lips. And with every swallow he was getting more and more drunk. But for now it was still only a buzz to dim the blaringly coherent thoughts that swirled around in his mind.

He dropped his arm back down to his side and sighed. A drop of the clear liquor slipped down his chin where it hovered on the edge of dropping. His red tongue slid out of the wet confines of his mouth and licked his bottom lip clean before moving down his chin as far as it could reach. The back of his free hand wiped away the drop just as it was about to fall.

That was when he felt a pair of eyes watching his every movement and he inconspicuously followed his instincts with his gaze to find a guy dressed in casual clothing, a pair of loose jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt, staring at him through a pair of dark sunglasses. His hair was dyed black, his blonde roots all too noticeable and sexy. He wore a long, black coat that fell down to his knees.

His lips curled into a seductive smirk when he saw the boy of his piercing gaze staring at him out of the corner of his eye. David watched as the obviously older male confidently sauntered over to him.

"See something you like?" He asked once he was a meter from where David was standing.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" David questioned not really caring about some dude who wanted to flirt. "Since you've been the one staring for fifteen minutes."

"Touché." The guy muttered loud enough for David to hear. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"And what about it?" David asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Do you? See something you like, that is." The male pressed, his lips quirked in a half-smile.

"What if I do?" David retorted, glaring at the teen a full eight inches taller than him. Said teen stepped forward toward the buzzed guitarist, leaning down so they were eye-to-eye. The palms of his hands pressed against the wall behind David.

"Then I'd have to act upon some wrongful desires." He whispered as he leaned in closer to David's face.

David immediately raised his free hand and pushed the older boy away. His entire being had switched from mere wariness to vigilant attentiveness, ready to move as soon as danger (aka molestation) made itself known.

Behind his sunglasses the other male took notice of the way his prey's body tensed, the subtle flicker of his eyes looking for an escape route. He knew he had to act quickly and pressed his body forward, successfully trapping the shorter male.

Lips crashed down on David's when his attention was momentarily distracted. A firm body forced his own flat against the wall, and a slick muscle dove past his lips and into his mouth. It slid against his own velvety tongue in an almost familiar way, trying to coax a moan from his throat. David's free hand fisted in the guy's shirt and he tore his mouth away from his captor's.

"Cock-smoker." David hissed at the male, keeping his face turned away. But that of course left his ear the side of his face and his neck completely open. The man leaned in taking full advantage of the position by breathing heavily into the boy's ear causing him to shiver involuntarily.

"No. But I'd like to suck yours."

David's cheeks, already pinkened from the alcohol and the unwanted kiss, turned bright red from anger (and maybe something else?) at the leering comment.

"Sorry. I'd love to," David stated sarcastically. He turned his head so he was facing the older teen once again, a murderous glint in his eyes. "But I have a boyfriends."

"He's out of town isn't he? I mean, that _is_ what your shirts says." The guy stated suggestively. "So lets have some fun together."

"How 'bout we don't and say we did." David retorted maliciously.

"I know you want to." The black-haired blonde purred provocatively into the shorter male's ear. David gasped as a hand groped his crotch and he instinctively dropped the bottle of Peppermint Schnapps choosing instead to push the man away using all of his strength. But the other male just released his crotch in favor of pinning his wrists to the wall.

"Stop resisting. I won't hurt you." He whispered softly into David's lips, his voice lusty but strangely enough, familiarly comforting.

He forced his mouth onto David's again, his tongue pushing past petal soft lips into the younger male's sweet, alcoholic flavored cavern. David couldn't help but melt into the slow kiss, his body responding in opposition to the will of his mind. He wiggled against the firm body pressing his into the wall, a low whimpering moan being swallowed by the older male's greedy mouth. A mouth with a tongue that was getting greedier with every passing second.

Their tongues slid together sensuously, causing David's mouth to tingle pleasingly. The taller male ground his hips into David's, and David gasped, realizing where the turn of events was taking him but he couldn't keep himself from thrusting his hips forward with a carnal crave for that heavenly friction.

Then he remembered Lindsay and his eyes began to sting behind his eyelids. He fucking loved Lindsay and here he was clinging to a stranger like a wanton whore, eyes watering from pleasure. His stomach churned in disgust underneath the muscles taut from sexual lust.

His struggle began anew and when they broke for air he clamped his lips shut, refusing to give into his bodily desires. The other male just relocated his mouth to David's neck. A silky appendage traced wet patterns down his neck, leaving behind slick trails, before lips latched onto an _extremely_ sensitive spot just above his collarbone. If David wasn't in an all-out war against his body's shameless lechery before he sure was now, as every hard suck to the flesh of his neck sent electricity down his spine to tingle in his thighs and pool between his legs.

"Nnnngh-No . . . S-st-AAAH! Stop! Please . . ." David pleaded as the man raised his legs up to wrap around his waist. The slow, rhythmic gyrating of their pelvis areas never ceased. And David, caught up in too many conflicting emotions and physical feelings, was not able to take register of procuring even an iota of reasons as to why the other's movements and actions would be familiar in any way. Of how the older male moved just so, lulling David into a zone of comfortable trust. Of how he knew exactly where to apply just enough pressure, to nip, to lick, and to bite just hard enough, to pull keening moans from David's vocals.

" . . . please . . ." the young teen rasped in a whisper.

Suddenly all movement ceased and David's feet were reunited with the floor. The older male made a move as if to leave and while David was feeling relief wash through every corner of his mind his voice conveyed his body's desires by whimpering at the loss of contact. And because of this David found himself roughly spun around and so his chest and the palms of his hands were pressed flat against the wall.

The man was behind him; pulling on his hips with one hand so that his ass stuck out and David could feel the guy's straining erection pressed into his leather-clothed ass. David's eyes watered again as the male behind him used his free hand to brace himself against the wall as he kissed at the juncture of David's shoulder and neck. David shuddered, making the other male groan and rock his hips against David's ass.

His body told him to just submit and enjoy it but his heart reminded him of his love and his mind panicked. Then he felt another conscious tickle his and knew it was Gabe. She was doing a routine location check, where she would touch each of their minds softly to check up on them and make sure they were all okay. It was a security thing she did to make herself feel better.

David immediately tried to get her attention, calling out her name in his mind. But either she had withdrawn barely a millisecond before he had shouted for her and didn't hear, or she was ignoring him for one reason or another.

Both ways he was screwed. Literally.

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HOLY CRAP THAT"S LONG!

(1) - Couldn't help myself.

(2) - (c) of **Insanity's Twin**

Yay the next chapter is out! YAY! And there is still another one coming before the end of the party! YAY! Why do I did myself into holes?! YAY!

O.o WTF!

. . .I'm so weird!X)

Now please, for the love of all things living, please review. I really want to hear from you guys. Seriously! If you're reading this REVIEW! PLZ! I', begging you. -gets on knees-

Okay then . . .

BYES :P


	6. When Everything Is Wrong

**JEE:** Yeah so it's been a while. -blinkblink- Uhm... just read on. Please?

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"I'm bored." Maxine whined after only twenty seconds of sitting down after the group had stopped dancing.

"Shut up! I'm eavesdropping!" Gabe yelled at her, completely blowing her cover or whatever cover she believed she had. Fang raised an apathetic eyebrow at the now completely wasted drummer who was making quite the commotion.

"Gabe sit down and entertain me." Max ordered as she watched her drunken friend hover over people's shoulders listening in to the conversations the people around them were having.

"I dun wanna!" She giggled clearly drunk off her ass.

"But ju gotta!"

"Dun WANNA!"

"YOU GOTSTA!"

"FINE!"

And with that Gabe stomped over and plopped down into a chair right next to Max.

"Now I'm bored . . ." Gabe stated staring off into space with a vacant expression. "David needs to get his sexy ass over here."

"But we lost him." Maximum informed them.

"Then we shall find him!" Maxine jumped out of her chair in exclamation. Gabe grabbed her skirt and pulled her back down into her chair.

"I'm horny," was her pensive remark as she did so. "Did you know that we're still being talked about?"

"You mean that one time with the-"

"No the other time with the fight."

"Oh. . . seriously?"

"Yeah. Twenty percent of our guy fan population want us back together. They're the gay ones. And fifty percent want us apart so we can hook up with them. The other forty percent are undecided."

"That doesn't add up." Maximum commented in confusion.

"And the girls," Gabe continued while totally disregarding Maxi's input. "Well, ten percent wanted us to stay together because then there would be more boys for them, thirty-eight point nine percent want us to make-up and get back together, and sixty percent are acutely pissed off at me for dumping you."

"Wow," Maxine commented flatly with hints of sarcasm. Then excitedly, "What else are people saying about the band?"

"Nuthin much but they're still talking about that one time with David and Lindsay and the fanservice. I don't blame them though. That was even hotter than that one fanservice kiss we saw on YouTube. You know the one with those two from that one band that starts with an F."

"Yeah . . . And now we're back on the subject of David."

"I'm bored."

"I think we've established that."

"But seriously . . . . . . . . . . . . . I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally bored."

"What do you wanna do?"

"Uhhhh…"

"That's why you're bored."

"Face."

"Want some alcohol?"

"HELL YES!!"

"Are you going to end up raping someone if I give it to you?'

". . .No…"

"I don't believe you. Have it anyway."

"YAY!!!! I LOVE YOU NOW AND I LOVED YOU THEN AND NOW I'LL LOVE YOU FOR EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EV-"

"I'm going to the bathroom!" Maximum announced, interrupting Gabe's rant. She stood up and began making her way to the bathroom. Gabe never noticed, just continuing on with her confession of love.

But Maxine glanced at her drunken ex before discreetly following the other Max toward the bathroom.

"-AND EVER AND EVER AND EVEN IF I NEVER GET LAID AGAIN EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO RESIST ME FOR FOREVER AND EVEN IF YOU WANT TO DO A MASS ORGY WITH A BUNCH OF PEOPLE AND I'D PROBABLY DISAGREE AT FIRST BEFORE GIVING IN BECAUSE I WANT TO TOO AND THEN I'LL LOVE YOU MORE FOR EVER AND– Hey, where'd Max go?"

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'This is getting out of hand.' Max thought to herself as she splashed cool water onto her face in the white bathroom. And normally the crazily white and sanitary environment would have really freaked her out, but the decorating inside gave white a _slightly _better reputation in her eyes.

_Although I do not condone underage drinking, it seems like the three were having quite a bit of fun, even after David wandered off._ The Voice commented to her self appointed thought.

'Yeah if you call having no self respect, dignity, or morals 'having fun." Max snapped back, not in the mood to hear from the stupid voice in her head.

_Max. Just because they don't care about what the people around them think doesn't mean they don't have any self-respect or morals. You've only known them for a couple days. At the moment you know barely anything about them at all . . . and if I remember correctly you were one of them for a while back there._

"Oh be quiet. I was dragged into that. And who cares about how long I've known them? I know enough about them to believe they are complete idiots with no standards what-so-ever." Max responded with.

"Is that really what you think about us?"

Max spun around and had enough sense to have the word "shame" scrawled over her face when she saw who was behind her. She hadn't realized she had spoken out loud.

"Meh. It doesn't matter to me," Maxine said with an indifferent look and a shrug of her shoulders. She grinned lecherously at Max, taking a step closer to her. "I just came here to borrow this."

And with that Maxine pushed Max into the porcelain sink and kissed her. Full on the mouth.

Her lips moved harshly against Maximum's and a demanding tongue pushed past shocked lips. It tickled the roof of Maximum's mouth, massaged her gums, and entwined with her own pink appendage.

A hand moved to rest on her thigh right above her knee and Max reacted, the shock finally wearing off. She placed her hands on Maxine's shoulders and gave a harsh shove. The other girl just pushed her harder against the sink, almost forcing Maximum to sit on its cool edge.

Then as soon as these strange turn of events had started, they ended and Max was left panting from both lack of oxygen and her struggle. Looking straight ahead Maximum was sure she saw Maxine's eye grinning at her through a stall crack. The blonde raised one finger to her lips, telling Max to shush.

In all the whole motion took only about a second and a half before chaos made her name known.

Angel came barging in, furiously asking where Maxine was, her cute face scrunched up in anger. Then came the pissed off and worried faces of Fang and Iggy. After them it was Nudge and Total with Gazzy in tow.

"Max! Erasers and a lot of them!" Fang immediately snapped. There was a moment of silence, then Max was opening her mouth to give out orders.

"Whoohoo! Party in the bathroom!" Gabe shouted, stumbling through the door and tripping over air only to land sprawled on the floor. Maxine came running in after her, instantly falling over the brunette's body with a squeal. She landed painfully on top of the other girl, laughing the whole time.

"Ahaha! Weeee! God it feels like I'm drunk!" Maxi was shouting, her and Gabe laughing their asses off. She looked up to where the flock members were standing. "Why are you guys all so cereal like?"

"Because Erasers are here and the two of you are acting like an entire kindergarten class!" Max shouted.

"Eraser?" Gabe asked in confusion, forcefully pushing Maxi off her body. "The animal-human hybrid-thingy or the thing that makes marks on paper disappear?"

"The animal-human hybrid-thingy!" Nudge interjected. None of them even thought about asking how she knew about Erasers but Fang shined with suspicion. "They always seem to find us and are currently trying to take us back to the School. And Ari hates us, especially Max and-"

"OH SHIT!" Maxine and Gabe shouted, jumping up after a minute of mental conversation and thought, completely sobered. Then they faced each other with wide eyes and completely freaked out.

"DAVID!"

And they were sprinting out the door in a panicked rush.

"HEY WAIT!" Maximum shouted following them. The other flock members all sighed and exchanged tired glances. Except for Iggy who just looked worn and couldn't exchange any glances because of his inability to glance around.

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_Calloused fingers pumped and stroked David's erect cock as he was ground into from behind. He could feel orgasm approaching and couldn't stop his body's movements to bring it. His hips thrusted forward into the fist around his throbbing erection, needing the release he was hovering on the edge of._

_Teeth sunk into the tender flesh of his shoulder and that was the last bit of stimulation he needed. With a stifled half-cry, ribbons of white coated the wall in front of the short brunette and his body shook as waves of pleasure washed through his senses. The hand on his cock continued with its motions, milking David dry._

_Then as soon as his orgasm ended his flaccid length was tucked back into his boxers and the support behind him left. He fell to his knees, one hand on the floor next to him and his other on the wall in his own essence. His head dropped and after he regained feeling in his limbs he reached for the bottle of forgotten alcohol. When it was secured in his grasp he took several satisfying swigs of the substance. He was alone now. Pretenses didn't have to be held but the least he could do was hold back the tears from being violated._

Back in real life David shook his head, purging the rising guilt from his mind and body. He was out here to forget and numb himself, so he took another round of gulps from whatever alcohol that was in his hand and resumed his mantra.

'Stupid mother-fucking asshole who couldn't keep his hands to himself . . . fuck him and his mangina . . . fucking cock smoker, making me cum like that . . . imbecilic fucker . . . '

He was currently standing outside of the club, Below Zero, in a back alley with barely any light, utterly wasted.

He was stumbling about in a pathetic attempt to pace around in a circle. Finally giving up on the circle after five minutes of repeating himself about the "stupid mother-fucking asshole who can't keep his hands to himself" David started to walk from one alley wall to the next.

After several minutes of getting dizzy doing that he stared off down one end of the alley where it opened up to the streets outside. The world seemed to be tilted in two directions at once and no matter how many times he tried David couldn't seem to uncross his eyes. The flashing lights at the end of the tunnel-like passageway didn't help in the least.

As David took a long swig of the alcohol in his hand something really weird happened.

A van pulled up at the end of the alley and out stepped a bunch of . . . werewolves? Or were they just really hairy men? Yetis? No yetis are white . . . Maybe they were mascots . . . of what? Sasquach? Deformities? Retarded aliens who got lost in a black hole that was supposed to warp them to their home planet but took them on a detour to earth where their bodies had chemical reactions to pollution and made them grow excessive amounts of hair?

David looked down with a mixture of skeptism and confusion at the bottle of alcohol in his hand after what he was just thinking. Maybe he had had enough to drink? He glanced up and noticed something. He could focus slightly.

'Then again, maybe not.' And David took another long drought from the bottle.

A door was flung open to his . . . uh somewhere near him and he spun toward the noise of it crashing against the wall. The bottle of alcohol slipped from his relaxed fingers as he spun and smashed against a nearby dumpster. The blackette looked down at his now empty hand in confusion, then back at the person frozen in the doorway. It was Max!

"Hiya Max! What're you doin' on Uranus?" David slurred at his best friend.

"David we're not on Uranus!" Max shouted, not daring to move just yet. Her eyes flickered toward the approaching shapes and back to her drunk little-brother-like figure. David frowned at her answer.

"I know tha'. It's code."

"Uranus means 'Are you hungry?' you imbecile." Max wailed, beginning to panic as the Erasers moved forward toward them.

"Imbesullen!" David yelled at her before bursting into a fit of giggles and turning toward the approaching werewolf-alien-retarded-deformity-mascots-that-were-lost. "Don'cha think 'e needs ta shave Max?" He pointed to the Eraser in front rather obviously. "I mean, even if 'e is a retarded-alien-mascot-who-got-lost-an'-had-chemical-imbalances-that-made-'im-grow-excessive-hair doesn't mean 'e shouldn' at least be courteous an' shave so nobody catches 'is ugly. Like, look at mey arms. They're so silky an'-"

But David never got to finish what he was going to say about his shaved arms for at that moment Max pushed him flat against the nearest wall as bullets whizzed by behind them, shot by the furious Erasers. Confused and uncomfortable David squirmed around trying to figure out what the hell was going on. But he never succeeded because in the next instant he was stumbling backwards with Maxine's hand fisting the collar of his shirt.

They tumbled through the doorway back into the club's back entryway. The door was slammed shut and locked with deadbolts. Pounding could be heard on the other side but for the moment everyone in the area disregarded it. Gabe, the one who had taken care of the door, turned to David, who was hovering increasingly closer to toppling down the flight of stairs they were at the top of, and gave him a quick once over. Her eyebrow rose delicately and she saw Max take notice of what she was seeing too.

"David, why are your pants undone?" Max asked, pointing to the drunk's crotch area.

"Huh?" Muttered David, thinking he had to bend all the way over to see the crotch of his pants. If it weren't for Fang jogging up the stairs the black-haired boy would have surely taken quite the tumble.

Instead he was caught and held against Fang's chest until he was pushed back far enough away from the stairs. David leaned back and in his wasted stupor he raised one hand and pushed his index finger to Fang's nose, flattening it to the olive-skinned teen's face.

"MMMBOOOOOOOP!" David said before giggling like a schoolgirl and promptly passing out.

Fang redoubled his hold on the lump of deadweight in his arms before looking to the boy's friends. Gabe ignored him and started down the stairs. Max followed, leaving Fang with an unconscious sexpot's body. Giving up the hope of receiving help he shifted and tossed David over his shoulder before taking the girls' lead and getting away from the angry noises on the other side of the door.

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As soon as Fang emerged from the back of the club he was being pulled down behind the bar. His eyes were wide as he fell to the ground, dropping his burden unceremoniously on the ground. He had glimpsed at least a hundred Erasers on the dance floor alone. Maxine did the shh-ing motion with her hand as she pointed under the bar where everyone was crawling on his or her hands and knees.

She motioned for Fang to follow suit before falling in line behind Iggy.

It was only a minute later that an Eraser was reaching over the bar and grabbing a fistful of Angel's hair. She was pulled from her place in front of Iggy and forced to stand awkwardly. Maxine reacted on instinct, jumping up and grabbing the furry one's head one either side. She gave a violent twist. A satisfying _crack_ echoed in the hushed club.

Everyone in the flock that could see stared at her in shock. The girl had just _killed_ a person without a second thought. Max just shrugged her shoulders before hearing something strange.

"Mubble doo monkey ated my stolen Devarnicker." David muttered in a waking up stage before just rolling over and slipping back into slumber.

A second later he jumped up and kicked the nearest object. Person or not.

"The hell was that for!" Maxi (as in Maxine) yelled at him while rubbing her injured shin.

"Strange dream?" David tried with an innocent smile.

Just then a round of bullets aimed at them were fired off and they were all ducking back under the bar. When the firing ceased Maxi stood on her knees and chucked a bottle of something or other at the mass of hairy bodies with a shout of, "Shut the fuck up!" And promptly scrambled back under cover.

The bottle smashed a minute later with a very wet sound.

"Max, how are we gonna get away this time?" Nudge asked a little fearfully.

"Don't worry sweetie. I have a plan." Max consoled. David snorted.

"No you don't."

"This is all your fault anyway! So why don't you just be quiet for longer than a minute?" Maximum retorted with.

"How bout I don't and say I did?" Was the smart reply from the midget.

"Do you ever not have a stupid comeback to say?!"

"No because people are always setting themselves up for them."

"You know what?" Max yelled as she stood up with a stomp of her foot. A round of bullets were fired at her. She dropped back to the ground without finishing her thought.

"I'm horny." David stated after a minute of silence.

"You're always horny, David." Gabe pointed out.

"Yeah but now I have a boner." He whined.

There was a rustling of fabric.

"Oh my GOD David. Zip your pants back up! They're still undone!" Maxine hollered in mock disgust. David immediately smacked her on the head. "The hell was that for?"

"DON'T FUCKNG YELL IN MY FUCKING EAR!" He yelled at her.

"Gabe has really soft pubic hair." Maxi stated at random.

"Really? Lindsay's semen taste really fucking good." Said the brunette boy with just as much randomness.

"Eww! How would you know something like that?" Max questioned with pure disgust.

"Blowjobs baby. Blowjobs." David answered with a smirk. Gabe smacked Max upside the head.

"I ask again. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!?!" She yelled using her left hand to rub her head.

"I couldn't reach David." Gabe shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay! We're done talking a bout this!" Iggy stated loudly, clearly disgusted with the topic of conversation. "Shouldn't we be planning on our escape instead of . . . preferences?"

"Why? Afraid we'll de-virginize the kiddies' ears?" Questioned David with a sneer.

"Speaking of virgins," Maxi began, staring off into space with contemplation. "David's still one."

The mentioned virgin promptly turned toward the dumb blonde and began violently kicking her in the ribs with both feet while she laughed.

"That's FUCKING PRIVATE you ass-wipe!"

"Ahahaha-Owowowahahahaha! DAMN! That one really fucking hurt."

Maxine quickly edged closer to Gabe to seek refuge from David's fury. She looked at her leader's new-shade-of-red face and smirked.

"It wouldn't be private if you actually had lost it. You know you want to. You like bragging so you would just have bragging rights afterwards."

David _lightly_ punched her in the side of the head.

"Shut the fuck up Max! You don't what goes on behind closed doors." David stated moodily.

"Oh but I do. It's called a candid camera, my dear David." Laughed Maxi at the horrified look on David's face.

"Yeah, and loud screams-" Gabe listed.

"And thin walls-" Max continued.

"And the fact that I know almost everything." Finished Gabe.

"Fucking perverts. You're a bunch of voyeuristic perverts!" Screamed the short, black-haired, increasingly embarrassed boy as he pounced onto his friends, as much as he could pounce in the confined space, and began beating on them using anything available. Like fists and feet and teeth and knees and elbows, et cetera.

"Does she seriously know everything?" Fang questioned curiously. For that past conversation he had been listening in with hidden interest, trying to glean a bit of . . . information.

Iggy had been shaking his head, Angel wrinkling her nose and presumably trying to block the thoughts entering her head, Gazzy looked ready to puke, Maximum's eye had developed a bad twitch, and Nudge just looked on in curiosity.

"Yeah, ask her almost anything and she has the answer!" Maxi exclaimed in excitement.

"Uhh . . ." Fang trailed off.

"How am I going to kill you both?" David interjected with a vicious glare.

"Very painfully. But you should know by now that we kinda like that." Gabe answered. David just pouted and turned his back on them.

"What am I going to eat tomorrow for lunch?" Was Gazzy's question.

"She's not a fortune teller Gasman." Maxi corrected.

"Oh." Was Gazzy's disappointed response.

"What is Miyavi doing right this instant?!?" David asked deciding to get in on the action.

"Scratching his nose as he updates his myspace page in Reita's bed." The brunette responded automatically. Her jaw dropped as soon as the words left her mouth.

David fell backward in a fit of laughter as Maxi was crossed between reacting like him and bursting out in tears. She had just lost both money and the delusion that her precious Reita-kun was straight.

"You owe me five dollars!" David demanded through his laughter.

"Aoi just joined them. He was in the bathroom. Reita's asleep and Miyavi just put his computer to the side in favor of kissing Aoi." Gabe continued.

"Make that twenty-five!" David corrected himself. Maxine backhanded his stomach, knocking the air out of him.

Suddenly there was a harsh thump on the wood above them and Ari leaned over with a maniacal smirk.

"Fun's over birdies." He growled.

Maxine jumped up putting one hand on her hip and pointing a finger into the air above her. A sunset momentarily broke out behind her and she shouted out.

"Survival Game Six; Forest of Death; Chuunin Exam Style!"

David and Gabe followed with the jumping motion, each swinging a short flock member onto their back. Gabe had Gazzy, David had Angel and Maxine was stuck with Nudge since she was the tallest out of the three.

"What are you doing?" Maximum yelled as they hopped the bar, swerved around Ari and ran straight toward the mass of hairy bodies.

"Follow the leader. I call Fang!" David said, grabbing the dark-haired teens hand and veering to the right.

"Do as I do, Maxi." Maxine called over her shoulder as to her left Gabe parted with Iggy. She jumped over the nearest Eraser, using his shoulders as leverage. Nudge squealed fearfully as she watched the Eraser in front of them take a swipe at grabbing Maxine's shirt. Maxi did a baseball slide between his legs and continued on. She knew that the flock leader would be following her.

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With David and Fang

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"You're going to get us killed!" Fang cried as he mimicked David and slipped sideways between two Erasers.

"No I'm not. Your oh-so-fearless leader is with the ditz and that balances out. Blind Dude is with Gabe Know-Alls. And you're with me! So-" David paused in what he was going to say as he used the back of a diving Eraser as a spring-board and did a front handspring into the next one. The Eraser fell onto his back as David's boots broke several ribs, maybe even snapped his sternum. Fang just chose to jump over the fallen idiots.

"-So by looks of it we just might win. That is, if Gabe doesn't figure out some way to do so."

"Win?" Fang asked between breaths.

"Yeah, whomever makes it to the elevator first wins."

And with that David was back to creatively dodging Erasers.

'We're all going to die.' Fang thought as he no choice but to do as David did.

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"I hate you guys!" Maxine panted as she stumbled out of the elevator where David and Gabe were waiting at the top of. The lobby of the club was strangely deserted.

"Don't hate us cuz we're better than you." David commented as he chewed a nail. Maxine gave him the one finger salute.

"You keep forgetting, Max. That's like a turn-on for me. You better watch it or somebody might get raped." David stated with a Cheshire's grin.

" . . ."

"Awkward~!" Nudge sang.

"Neh. Not really." Maxi and David shrugged in unison.

"Hey guys, we're still not out of here yet." Gabe reminded them in her monotonous voice.

"Yeah," breathed David as he approached the front door. He pushed it open to find Ari on the other side, holding a furry black, wiggling, dog and wearing a malevolent smile.

"Hey guys." Total muttered with a sheepish grin.

David facepalmed.

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"Well, that was fun." Iggy stated with pure sarcasm as the group of nine soared the skies.

"Hey," Maxine began her retort with. "It's not our fault the dog couldn't stay with whoever he was supposed to!"

"I'm not just a dog." Total mumbled. Everybody ignored him.

Silence descended upon the dark sky for a while and that was comfortable. It was nice to just be up and free and thoughtless. Well everyone else was free and thoughtless except for David. Who kept shaking his head and frowning, all while slowly falling from the middle of the group to the back.

Finally he slowed down so much that he was almost immobile except for the beating of his dragon-like wings.

Angel stopped sensing something wrong and turned toward the troubled teen. He was holding his head with one hand and trembling slightly. He shook his head and suddenly was panting like a person who'd just completed a triathlon.

"David, are you okay?" She tentatively asked. Max turned around when her baby-girl spoke and felt a dreading sense of déjà vu.

David's eyes shot open then and he gasped for air like he'd been underwater. Seconds later his whole body went limp and he dropped from their altitude like stone.

"Max!" Gabe shouted, and Maxine stopped in her aimless flight to spin around in mid-air. What she almost made her heart stop.

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**JEE:** Okay so questions, comments, love me, hate me, or just want to kill me feel free to put it in a review!

Oh btw I have a livejournal now so you should check it out! :D The thingy is in my profile page.

PS Why does it feel like I'm picking on Iggy? .


	7. Attacks and Questions Answered

**Jaded says hi:** Here we are with another chapter. I really don't know what to say here but I hope you all enjoy. Also I'd like to thank **Scary Homicidal Freak**, **philokiller**, and **Insanity's Twin**! MEH AWESOMESICLE INTERNET SISTER!! I can't wait to hear from you again!! **philokiller**, I'm glad you have kept with this story so far. It really encourages me to write every time you review!

Annnnnnnd to the person I know in Riverton who I know reads this, REVIEW~! You almost never do! :(

* * *

Maximum's View

* * *

I was vaguely reminded of when my brain explosions first started and I fell from the sky as I watched David do the same in paralysis.

At first I had a dreading sense of déjá vu when I had turned around. It was like watching Fang again after that grapple with those flying Erasers. But there were several very big differences with David.

_I_ had curled up in a ball, retracting my wings with in a snap, and closed my eyes. Fang had passed out from blood loss and was unconscious as he took his own tumble from the sky. David, first was not a member of the flock but I was panicking anyway, fell with his eyes wide open and his wings completely sprawled out around him. Thankfully that was going to slow his decent somewhat. He was fully conscious but he might as well have been out cold for his body was limp like a rotten carrot.

Everything happened in a blur as the brunette approached the ground. Gabe was shouting orders to Maxine and both were racing towards the ground in record speeds. Maxine was the one to intercept David, right before he could disappear into the treetops below, slipping up under him and catching him on her back between her hot pink wings. Somehow she had gotten rid of the backpack she was carrying. Then they were making to land in the closest clearing and before I could stop them my flock was following with mixed emotions thrumming through the air around them leaving a trail of dread and fear in their wake.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and made to go after them. I had mixed emotions myself but the most prominent were jealousy like I had been when living with Anne and fear. Fear for something I didn't know about. I had a sense of unease about this small group and had since the beginning. I knew that if the Voice in my head said that I was supposed to stick with them, it knew things about the three that I didn't, and I was going to find out what they were.

* * *

As soon as the boot-clad feet of the two girls touched ground David was being removed from Max's back and Gabe was stumbling backwards, holding David close. Seconds after she had a hold of him she was falling down onto her ass so they would both be sitting. She carefully spread her friend's legs and bent them at the knees so she could support him between hers and hold his head down amidst the space between his legs.

"Don't just stand there Max!" Gabe was yelling as David began seriously hyperventilating. The first of the flock members were just landing. "Get his fucking medication!"

Max violently flinched from her staring and immediately started dumping the contents of their discarded backpacks onto the ground. She was frantically searching through the spilled items but not finding the one she needed.

Something rolled over and knocked against Iggy's foot. Curiously he bent down and picked it up. It was a bottle of some sort.

"Fang," he called softly, knowing the boy was close. "What's this?'

The mentioned boy turned and looked at the prescription bottle in his _friend's_ hand. He gingerly took it from the blond and inspected it.

"Zan-nax?" Fang muttered to himself. Then louder he called, "Is this what you're looking for?"

Maxine jumped up in an instant and was snatching the bottle from the dark teen. Her shaking fingers fumbled with the lid before it flew off and she dumped out two of the small pills into her hand. She handed them to Gabe who used her other hand to gently pull David's chin up and she carefully deposited the pills into the boy's open and gasping mouth. A water bottle was handed to her and she slowly dumped the clear liquid into the awaiting mouth.

Instinctively David wrapped his lips around the bottle's opening and swallowed. He gulped down as much of the water as he could like a very thirsty dying man. Some of it escaped his lips and slid down his chin from the corners of his mouth. When he was done the bottle was removed and his head lolled back onto Gabe's shoulder.

His breathing was still erratic, his heart was still palpitating, his body was racked with savage shaking and trembling, and he was extremely cold but sweating. The sticky perspiration made his hair stick to his face and neck. David's eyes were wide open in fear and focusing on a certain spot in the woods.

"Can someone please rub his neck?" Gabe asked softly with a slow inspection of the flock members. Iggy stepped forward as a volunteer and followed the trail to her voice. He gently picked his way around to kneel behind the brunette girl and brushed his fingers over her shoulder to find David's. His nimble fingers silently got to work on the muscles spasmodically tensing.

Angel crept over, her eyes doe-like and filled with comfort and compassion. She kneeled between David's legs and wrapped her arms around him as best as she could. He needed a hug. He needed reassurance. She could feel the sheer sensations of unneeded terror sweeping through his body in powerful waves, and her heart went out to him in consolation. He was terrified.

She looked to her right as Gazzy dropped to his knees next to her outside of Gabe's legs and hugged all three of them. He looked at her and she nodded in silent answer to the question posed in his mind.

Then Nudge was doing the same on the other side of Gabe and Maxine was crawling up behind Angel to get in on the love. Max and Fang were the only people left out of the group hug to comfort David now.

But Fang was soon walking over to group to sit down next to Iggy. He reached out with a half smile and touched first Iggy's shoulder so the blind teen would know he was there and then the forearm of the boy in the center of the ordeal. It was a hushed and such a Fang-ish way to show it, but David got the message of "being there for you-ness" through his fear-crazed mind, and he reached up to give Fang's hand a quick squeeze before letting it drop back to the ground.

Maximum stood away from the scene and watched while the taste of bile jealousy rose in the back of her throat. She felt as though her flock were switching to another and leaving her behind. But even as she thought these irrational thoughts caused by irrational feelings some part of her mind told her that she was just being absurd again. And if she were going to be completely honest they were only comforting David, who by any means looked like he needed it bad.

So with kind intentions she carefully tread her way over to stand above the group on the ground and run her fingers soothingly through the black strands of silk atop David's head.

David's breathing had calmed in the time it took Maxi to join in and now with the added warmth and sensations of comfort and condolences he was having trouble staying awake. The fingers rubbing his scalp had his eyelids fluttering in an attempt to stay open; his dark lashes fanning over his cheekbones repeatedly. His body melted under the tender ministrations on his neck and shoulders. He ached everywhere and was exhausted, like he had just run a marathon.

Slowly his eyes closed as he lost the fight to stay awake and forfeited himself to the darkness of slumber, wrapped in the blanket of warmth around him. David's head fell forward slightly startling no one as he completely succumbed to sleep. His breathing evened out the rest of the way and nobody wanted to move just yet. So they stayed like that for as long as they possibly could and basked in the affection that all needed but never had enough of.

* * *

Everything was quiet. Even the crackling fire seemed to be mute. The atmosphere was thick and heavy and numerous pairs of eyes darted around. They all seemed to glance at the prone body curled up on a blanket with his baby blanket. It was David who had only recently been laid down. Next to him Maxine was caringly placing cool rags on his forehead and over his eyes. Gabe sat in front of the fire across from the flock members just like it had been when they first met.

"What was that?" Fang was the one to ask the question on everyone's mind. Gabe looked up from where she had been staring in the fire. Her soft brown eyes met Fang's chocolate ones and she sighed.

"What was what?" She asked even though it wasn't needed. She already knew.

"That thing that happened to David. What was it? Why did it happen? You- Why don't you tell us anything?" Fang fired off, even cutting himself off in his haste to get his questions answered.

Gabe brushed her hair behind one ear before answering.

"It was a panic attack. He gets them sometimes for no reason, other times they're triggered by things big or small. And we tell you anything you ask us to tell you. You just don't have the audacity to ask."

It was silent as everyone soaked in the small amount of information. Then Iggy was asking a question of his own.

"Why Xanax?"

"Because it works and the one time we went to a doctor that's what he prescribed."

"Don't you worry about dependency?"

"He doesn't take it enough to."

"What are you guys talking about?" Maximum interjected.

"Xanax is a drug that's quite potent and one can get very dependant of it if it's taken over long periods of time. The person who uses it can go through some pretty serious withdrawal symptoms when taken off of it and the side effects get pretty serious as well." Was what Iggy responded with. Maximum was looking at him with shock, not expecting him to be the one to answer.

"It's used to treat panic disorders and major depression."

Gabe nodded in approval of the explanation. "If there's anything you want to know you might want to ask it now while we're sharing."

The flock members were silent as they thought of the many things they didn't know and wanted to know about the three. Angel was the one to get the ball rolling.

"What triggered that panic attack thingy?"

"We don't know. We never have."

"Why don't you remember your pasts?" It was Nudge's turn to inquire.

"It's a long story that we don't know the half of. According to the people we . . . were raised by there was purple and black electricity above their town before we fell from the sky out cold. When we woke up three weeks later the only things we knew were our names and that we were friends."

"Who were you raised by?" Gazzy questioned this time, sparked by Gabe's statement.

"The ninja and towns people of Konoha village on a hidden continent."

Seven pairs of dinner-plate eyes stared at her like she was crazy.

"What?" Was the only thing coherent escaping four mouths.

"Why haven't you gone back?"

"_Ninja_?"

"WHAT?!"

Gabe sighed after the bombardment of questions.

"We don't know how we got there, we don't know how to get back, and even if we did we don't even know where it is. Yes ninja. And what do you mean 'What?'"

"I mean that you can't be ninja. They don't exist anymore." It was Maximum who answered.

"A demonstration?" Gabe looked around the group to see if that was what they wanted. Everyone, even Total, nodded.

The brunette sighed tiredly and pushed herself into a crouching position. She sprung into the air the next moment, did a combination of a back flip and kicks before landing with only the slightest rustle in the same position she started in.

"That doesn't prove anything." Max commented with tight lips.

The next moment Gabe was gone.

"Where am I?" Her voice asked from behind the flock.

"Behind us." Iggy answered. Being blind had its perks.

"And now?" It came from their left.

"Left and behind the tree." Iggy responded with again.

The brunette dropped down from above them right back into her spot in front of the fire.

"I was above you the whole time." She said in her monotone voice. "It's trickery. And if you were a ninja you would have been able to tell that I was only using clones. They're completely intangible, but useful at times."

She shifted around back to her comfortable way of sitting before looking at the group again.

"Any more questions?"

"Why don't you have wings?" –Nudge

"I do. We believe they're fairy wings. Max's are bat wings and David's we believe are dragon wings."

"How'd you get them if not from the school?" –Fang

Gabe shrugged.

"Do you have powers like us?" –Angel

"Sort of. I'm a telepath and I know almost everything. Max will have random bouts of telekinesis and even teleportation on occasion. David's boyfriend can actually clone himself up to five. David is a pyromaniac. Literally, he plays with fire."

"Sounds like he could get along with Iggy just fine." –Fang

"So you were living on this hidden continent with these ninja right? How did you get here?" Maximum inquired then, wanting to know as much as possible.

"We don't know anything about that either. We had a run in with . . . some enemy ninja and the next thing any of us knew we were here with Lindsay, David's boyfriend, and had to blend in and survive."

"You don't know much do you?" Max said scathingly.

"Like I said," Gabe stated getting irked. "We don't remember anything before we lived in the ninja world."

"Well then, when did you appear in this ninja world?"

"I was almost ten, Max was almost eleven, and David was almost nine. Lindsay was already living there when we showed up. He graduated from the academy a year after we entered it."

"This academy thing, does it teach you how to be ninja?" Maximum asked with a deliberate attempt to provoke Gabe.

"Yes," The brunette pushed through clenched teeth.

"Oh and what do you do as a ninja?"

"Whatever we're allowed to do depending on our ninja rank. Or certain circumstances."

"Well, tell me just a couple of the things you've done as a _ninja_." Max sneered.

From her place attending David Maxine grimaced. They've had to do some pretty bad things in their ninja career but they had all been for the best. It didn't help that they had the most sadistic jounin as their sensei.

"We've spied, escorted, babysat, pulled weeds, retrieved escaped animals, and killed when we've had to." Gabe deadpanned with menace emanating from her brown orbs.

"So I guess that means you have no qualms about killing?" Maximum stated spitefully more than questioned.

"Well when it comes to us or the other person I'll almost definitely pick our lives over our enemy's." The annoyed brunette ground out from her side of the fire.

The conversation had an air of mock pleasantry about it since it began but the comments were steadily increasing in their harshness. Maxine was still listening from where she was crouched next to David, ready to jump when the time called for it. He whined a bit in his sleep, face contorting in discomfort and she soothed him by rubbing his scalp with the pads of her fingers and cooing softly.

David's special sense of pyromania also gave him a slight empathic six sense. And he was most vulnerable to its affects when he was asleep. The fire flickered unnoticeably in reaction to the blackette's distress.

"Then I guess I wouldn't want to become your enemy." Maximum was prodding again.

"It's not about becoming our enemy in the sense that we don't like you but more in the sense that you'd rather have _us_ dead than _you_. It all falls back to self preservation." Gabe's response was delivered much in the same way it had been before.

The members of the flock were beginning to feel a little more than just uneasy now that the two looked ready to rip out each other's throats. They were all sitting tense and the younger members were looking around in fright of what might happen.

"So are you saying that if a man with a loving family and kind nature decided to attack you on the streets one day then you would have no qualms in _murdering_ him?" Maximum spat with force.

"Well besides there being several things wrong with the way that scenario was set up, I would have to find myself answering yes because the man was _attacking me_!" Gabe was plainly riled up now. If she had had fur it would have been standing on end.

"And that's what's made this world so crappy! People like you are the reason we have to save it!" Max had jumped up now glaring at Gabe over the glow of the fire as she shouted. Gabe in turn took to her feet so that they were both on equal ground. "It's heartless people like you who are destroying it! And I bet that's why David," Maximum hissed out his name like it was a vile taste on her tongue. "Has his stupid panic attacks. The weight of countless _innocent_ peoples' lives he's _slaughtered_ too much of a burden for his _clearly unstable_ mind to-"

"SHUT UP!" Both Gabe and Maxine yelled at the opposing Max. Maxi appeared murderous but it was Gabe's eyes that flashed with rage before she pounced at Max. She was knocked backward and the flock was scrambling to get out of the way. They were rolling around on the forest floor as each attempted to gain the upper hand.

There was punching and biting and fists in hair and blood sprays and kicking and just about every other dirty way you could fight going on. Fang and Nudge were instantly drawn into the brawl as they tried to pull apart the two blondes. Iggy held Angel and Gazzy behind him and they stood away from the fight in fear.

Wrapped deep within the claws of slumber the object of the quarrel began tossing around with whimpers of terror. Sweat was once again accumulating on his neck and brow as the deep-seated talons of a nightmare clawed into his unprotected unconscious mind. He thrashed around as if warding off an unseen enemy, anguished cries escaping his lips.

But all of this went unnoticed as everyone's attention was fully focused on other events happening in the vicinity. That is, until David screamed out words of torment.

"NO! STOP! PLEASE! …No . . . please stop. Don't . . . LEAVE ME ALONE!"

All movement paused and all eyes focused on the crying boy muttering to himself in his sleep; His knees pulled to his chest as his body shook with silent sobs.

"Look what you did!" Gabe yelled at Maximum, who was wiping blood from her mouth. Fighting broke out anew.

"Me!" Maximum screeched. "It was you who started this-"

"Don't you fucking dare say that! You were the one accusing-"

"Accusing!? Me? Accusing you-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I SMASH BOTH OF YOUR FUKCING HEADS IN!" It was Maxine who interjected this time, fury rolling off her form in waves in their direction.

She was back at her post next to David's body, softly stroking the back of his neck and cooing soothing nothings as she wiped his face with a cool wash cloth. His sobs decreased to agonized whimpers but seemed to be calming down.

"I'd tell you both to take a walk," Maxi started to say, her voice filled with the cold fire of her wrath. "But I believe it to cause more damage than repair. But with the nine of us plus Total not being confined to the ground I'll instead tell you take to flight until you cool down."

When a single word of protest was thrown in (From Maximum of course.) she turned and her hazel-green eyes flashed with malice, her dark pupils speaking indefinable depths of anger and pain for them.

"Go or I'll make you and I don't think that either of you would like that much." She growled low in her throat. Soon after Maximum and Gabe were gone, going separate ways.

Maxine sighed deeply once they were long departed, and was focused back on David in an attempt to dispel his nightmare. She didn't move prior to someone cautiously touching her shoulder. Then she jumped slightly and turned her head to see who it was.

Gazzy was standing there looking uncertain and frightened but was showing courage in the face of emotional fear. Maxine gave him a small smile and belatedly realized that the others were also gathered around her and David. He smiled sweetly back and sat down in her lap, just needing the silent comfort of human contact. In that way her and Maximum were similar: Their family came before them even with the most menial things and they understood when someone just needed a simple word or touch of affectionate warmth.

"I think it's time you all get some sleep. I'll stay up and wait for the other two." She spoke in kindness and ran the fingers of one hand through Gazzy's blonde locks while still keeping one comfortably rested on David's hip.

"Maxi?" Nudge called quietly from where she was sitting on her knees next to Angel and Fang. Max glanced in her direction. "Can't we just ask a couple more questions?"

"One each and then we sleep." Was all Maxine said.

"Why pyromania?" Iggy was the first to ask. Maxi looked up at him.

"He likes to play with fire and it reacts to him. He's gotten it mostly under control but sometimes slips when under extreme emotional distress. That's why."

"Why the bluntness?" Fang wondered aloud, not realizing he'd pushed his thoughts into the open.

"Because we'd all rather be hated by most for who we are than loved for we are not. We are who we are because we choose the who we are."

"Why did David start thrashing around like that? Was it a nightmare?" Nudge questioned not knowing that she had actually asked two questions.

"Yes it was."

"Why did he have the nightmare, Maxi?" Gazzy squeaked with sorrow.

"Because of the special type of pyromania he has. He draws on the heat surrounding him and it gives him empathic power. It means that he can feel what others are feeling easier than we would. The tension in the air when Maximum and Gabe were fighting triggered it.

"By the way, what's with all the whys?" No one had an answer.

It was Angel's turn to ask something now, Total having fallen asleep no matter how hard he had tried to stay awake. She stood up and relocated herself to kneeling right in front of Maxine. Her blue eyes were large and watery, too somber looking for a girl her age. What she said made Max's heartstrings pang.

"Was David raped?" It was said barely above a whisper and Maxine swallowed the tears that sprung to her eyes. It had been considered but never confirmed.

Max pulled her close in embrace with her brother and stroked her beautiful, innocent curls.

"I don't know angel-baby. I don't know." She breathed into the girl's neck. They stayed like that in silence for several long moments before Maxi was releasing the siblings and urging them and Nudge to sleep.

It was only when her, Iggy, and Fang were the only ones left awake did she lay down on her back on the blanket next to David, ready to wait. Against her waning will though, her eyes fluttered closed and blackness snuggled up to her mind like an old friend. Before she lost complete consciousness she heard someone murmur close to her,

"You're a good friend."

And then she was dead to the world.

* * *

It had been late when Maxine had kicked Gaberiella and me out our camp and now the first blue-black of sunlight was beginning to light the eastern horizon. I sighed from where I was sitting in the top branches of the tallest tree I could find.

I was definitely feeling a lot calmer now, especially after a long talk with the Voice. It had harshly thrown my mistakes in my face and then slowly explained things out for me. And even though I couldn't help the way I was still feeling at least I realized that I had just about as much right to feel jealous and angry with them as they did to be treated like something worse than trash.

'_I'm glad that you understand now Max. Judging people like that is uncalled for and unfair.'_

I sighed again and blinked my tired eyes. I really wanted to go back to camp and get some sleep but there was no way I was going to head back without Gabe. It seemed almost wrong to.

'_Then go find her.'_ The Voice suggested in what appeared to be a gentle tone. _'Make amends, admit you were wrong, and move on.'_

I wanted to say no and do the exact opposite but in the end reason won out and I nodded my head to myself before lifting out of the tree to find Gabe with the Voice's helpful hints.

It wasn't too long before I was landing and picking my way through forestry to Gabe's hidden location. And as I was pushing away branches and other shrubbery I was finding myself listening in on a conversation I probably shouldn't have heard.

"-and if you ever do something like that again I will put you in so much pain you will wish you were dead." Gabe spoke harshly to a tall boy with blonde hair that had the remnants of black dye in it.

* * *

Previously

* * *

"Gaberiella." It was short, casual, and almost curt in a way.

The person who had said it was sitting casually on a fallen tree of enormous width. He was dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a black form-fitting t-shirt to match the long, black coat draped over the log next to him. A cigarette was held nonchalantly between his index and middle fingers and smoke was dispelled from his mouth in a laid-back breath.

The girl had stridden into the small area he was sitting and he adamantly refused to meet her eyes. He had felt her coming for fifteen minutes but had known she would hunt him down for longer. He didn't need to be close to her, to look at her, or to even hear her movements to know how pissed she was. Her terse anger mixed with the thin air to make it more like a thick, sticky glob of clay he was trying to breathe in.

"Lindsay." Her greeting was equally short and casual but extremely calm compared to her aura. Somehow drawn out.

The blonde addressed as Lindsay gingerly placed the cigarette between his pale pink lips, drew in a breath that made the smoldering tobacco embers glow, removed the butt from his mouth, and slowly blew out a trail of smoke while he crushed the dead cancer stick under his sneaker.

"Upset?" Gabe questioned in her usual monotone. Her eyes were fierce.

"No." Lindsay's reply was curt again, avoidance of the conversation.

"You smoke when you're bothered." It was just the obvious but there was bite to it.

"Not always." He acted unperturbed.

"You're an asshole." Gabe hissed, done with small talk.

Lindsay said nothing but gave her an accusing look.

"You really are asshole though. Trying to make him feel guilty for something you did. Just because you committed an act of infidelity you make him believe he was betraying you like that. That's bull shit Lindsay."

"Shut the fuck up, Gabe. You-" Lindsay was getting pretty pissed himself now. "You don't-"

"The hell I don't! Blame it on whatever you like but it's still your fault alone. You knew what you were doing."

Lindsay had nothing to say. She was right, always almost. And he was an asshole, and a bastard and a dickhead and basically every other condescending thing you could think of. He just didn't want to face any of it. He was cowardly for sure.

"You're going to tell him it was you." Gabe said in tense monotone, the 'or else' hanging in her voice. It wasn't a choice. It was an order, a command. "If you ever pull shit like that again-" She had to pause here and take a breath. "And if you ever do something like that again I'll put you in so much pain you will wish you were dead."

"Whoa whoa whoa! What is going on?" Maximum questioned as she stumbled out into the area vacated by the two. Gabe turned to her with a knowing look and gestured to the tall blonde boy.

"Maxi meet Lindsay, David's boyfriend. This is Maximum Ride, the leader of a flock we ran into."

"You mean the ones we've been hearing about? The ones those people are after?" Lindsay asked. The brunette just nodded.

"So what now?" Lindsay directed at Gabe. She sighed with her eyes closed before opening them and staring right at Max with that same piercing gaze she had given her the first time they met.

"Now we surrender."

"Hello Max." Ari smirked as he slipped out from behind a tree to her right. Max spun to look at him, falling right into stance.

Gabe just stared off into space and Lindsay stood up, slipped on his coat, and reached into his pocket to pull out his pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He lit one up and took a long drag, acting completely nonchalant.

"And look you have one of the kiddies who thwarted our plan last time, and her boyfriend."

'Talk about cheesy.' Max thought.

"Goodnight." Ari spoke again with malice and something was placed forcefully over her mouth. She struggled for half a second before collapsing into a world of darkness.

* * *

If you've read this far! THANK YOU!! And please review! I love you all! And please check out my LiveJournal! There will be other stories up there for random things that pop into my head! Right now there is one with just two random characters if you want to read. It's a little crazy and psychotic. Hope you liked it! Bye now.

...I'm such a loser! XD


	8. A Gay Boy Wished 4 Genetic Experiments

**Jaded:** part of this chapter was written while watching Razor Ramon Hard Gay. Expect strange things! O.O Long chapter! BEWARE!!! Also slight Fang/Max in this chapter if you stand on your head, cross your eyes, and black out from all the blood flowing to your brain.

**Warnings:** None really for this rating. Well, maybe.

**Mandatory Disclaimer When There Hasn't Been One For A While (aka MDWTHBOFAW):** Maximum Ride is not mine. Don't want it to be either. The song used in this chapter is also not mine. It's called Bleed Like Me and the version I used is sung by Trapt.

* * *

Fog...voices...an annoying buzzing sound, like broken florescent lights...and his head hurt like a mother fucker. These were only a handful of the things that David noticed as he came to. The last thing he remembered though was having a panic attack, so why was there a funny taste in his mouth?

"...Dammit they stole my fucking kidney!"

"Magical Leoplurodon!" David had automatically yelled out in response to the previous statement.

He opened his eyes to find that there were, in fact, florescent lights in the ceiling above him. He also found his ankles and wrists to be strapped to a hospital bed table like thingy and the people he was hanging out with in the same predicament.

Only they weren't stuck underneath the ONLY fucking broken light in the room! Stupid flickering and buzzing light.

"Nice to see you awake," Maxine said from where she was laying to his right . . . or was it his left? David went to lift his hands and make L's to find out but remembered too late that they were bound.

"You know, this could really fuck up our spines." David did not like laying on his back in the least. It made it ache like a hard round of sex without the pleasure and release sex brought.

"You're in a building full of labs and crazy genetics scientists and the only thing you worry about is proper spine alignment?" Maximum inquired skeptically from her side of the room.

"See now that only makes it worse!" David cried. "As genetics scientist they should know that laying like this could cause permanent damage to the spine and future back problems. How stupid can people get?"

It's too bad no one was able to see Max roll her eyes. A moment passed before the black haired boy realized something.

"Why were you quoting Charlie the Unicorn?"

"It seemed to fit the situation." Gabe commented this time. "Well except you and Max aren't pink and blue unicorns and Candy Mountain is no where in sight."

"Are we supposed to be offended by that?" Maxi asked, lifting her head to look passed Fang, who was on David's left/right (He still hadn't figured it out.), and glare at Gabe.

"Are you?" Gabe monotoned.

"Are you trying to play mind games Gabe? You know that's only supposed to happen in the bedroom." Maxi teased.

"Would you two shut up?" A new voice contributed to the conversation. It seemed to come from where Max was also strapped down.

"It's bad enough that we're all in the same position here and I can't help but imagine how David looks, all bound and helpless. You don't need to bring bedroom antics into the equation."

"Sup Lindsay!" David exclaimed as he happily lifted his head in an attempt to see his boyfriend. "And, You're a pervert."

"You love me for it. Besides you're more of one." Lindsay responded, giving a strained smile. He was obviously uncomfortable and in need of a smoke but the people holding them hostage had confiscated his jacket. And the cigarettes in the pocket.

"I just realized something," David spoke to the entire room after briefly greeting his boyfriend. "I was mentioned before Max and pink was also mentioned before blue. I'm the pink unicorn. Right?"

As the subject of conversation had turned back to stupid Internet videos with unicorns and kidney stealing (and was that a mention of a gay boy named Shannon?) Maximum began repeatedly hitting the back of her head against the table she was bound to.

Nobody tried to stop her so she kept doing it until the door to their room opened. In walked Jeb Batchelder, Anne Walker, and young woman with caramel skin and straightened black hair pulled back with a headband. She wore a lab coat and carried a tray of something. Max glowered when she caught a whiff of what was on the tray.

"What is this? Torture by chocolate chip cookies?" She asked with bite.

"Well it can be if you want. I'll just leave a cookie on your forehead. How bout that?" The tone the woman used couldn't have been considered smartass but it was more of mockingly playful and funny. David laughed at her.

"Do you guys want your cookies or not." The lab assistant asked, scanning the room. Maxi laughed for reasons unknown to other people. "Why are you laughing freak?"

"Cookies." Maxi just giggled.

"Keep your stupid cookies." Maximum stated with venom and the girl just rolled her eyes. Maxi giggled some more.

"Your loss."

As she was walking for the door David lifted his head as far as he could so he could give his friend a pleading look which she obviously understood because the next second Maxi was concentrating really hard and before the woman could leave, half the cookies on the tray floated into the air, divided evenly, and were distributed to both her and David. They were placed on his chest for easy access. All he had to do was lift his head to grab a cookie with his teeth, quite a comical sight.

Jeb and Anne had both been watching the exchange with interest.

"What do you scumbags want?" Maximum turned on them next.

"How do you feel, Max?" Jeb asked as he stepped up to her "bed."

"Why fine! Thank you for asking." She exclaimed with false cheer and such a sugary sweet smile that had David wondering how the guy wasn't throwing up.

"Any nausea? Headache?" He attempted to get information again.

"You're still standing here aren't you?"

Jeb turned and gave Anne a look.

"Max," she tried instead. "You're at the School-"

"Really!?!? Now I _never_ would have guessed that!"

"-because you never left. Everything you think you experienced for the last five months never actually happened. It was all a dream."

Max looked shocked. Like she seriously couldn't believe these idiots would try something like that. Like did they actually believe she would believe them?

"Ha. Good one guys." Insert sarcastic smile here. "Really. You got me."

"You don't believe us." Jeb just stated sadly.

"Yeah because my brain's not wired wrong."

"You don't know that!" David exclaimed with his two cents in hand. "You could think you're Chuck Norris for all you know."

"It'd be much appreciated if you would kindly shut your mouth." Anne said, trying not to spit venom like a viper. David stared at her blankly and stuck out his tongue.

"And it'd be more than just appreciated if you visited a plastic surgeon soon for some much needed reconstruction of your ghastly disfigured, butt-ugly mug."

Maximum watched in horror of what David had just said as Anne's face and neck turned a furious red and she looked about to murder. The effect was lost on the black-haired teen.

"We gave you everything you have now and we can take it all away." She ground out. David opened his mouth to retort but felt Gabe in his mind.

'_Just play along. They gave us an injection that was supposedly suppose to give us false memories of living here and that we are only in this room as ploys against the Flock."_

David's mouth shut and he glared angrily at not being able to make another smart aleck comment, making Anne think that she'd won and that the serum had worked. In his opinion, if a bitch was a bitch she needed to be treated like one and it pissed him off to no end that he couldn't make a smart comment.

"Now, as I was saying," Anne stated as she turned back to Max with false togetherness. "We gave you memories of everything you experienced. We were monitoring everything that you believed went through to see how your bodies would handle stress and the levels of adrenaline different situations would make your body react to.

"Do you remember Dr. Martinez and Ella? They, as figments of your imagination of course, let us see how you would react to a loving family and nurturing environment."

Max thought she was going to be sick when she heard Ella and Dr. Martinez mentioned. How could they know about them? Had they harmed them?

"What was living with you supposed to test?" She questioned with spite. "How I would react to living with a two-faced control freak who wouldn't even be able to keep a goldfish alive for more than a day?"

Anne's face and neck was stained red again. Jeb decided it was the opportune moment to intervene.

"Sweetheart-"

"I'm not your 'Sweetheart,' Jeb. She died when you showed your other ugly face." Max bit at him and Maxine cringed at the malice held in those words. Poor guy.

"Why don't you believe us? It's all true."

"Well the main reason would have to be that I'm not a complete fricking lunatic!"

"Look Max!" He exclaimed then, pulling up the sleeve of the arm that she had tried to saw through that day on the beach. All scaring was gone. Disappeared. Never happened. Smooth skin stared at Max.

"Where's Total!" She tried not to choke when she spoke again. It was a lost attempt.

No one dared to answer.

"He's not here Maximum. He never was." Jeb said softly, as though he were trying to soothe her. No one spoke for a long moment.

"Jeb-" Anne began but was interrupted by the door opening and a small girl with blonde curls and an angel's face walking in. In one hand she held a cookie that she nibbled on. The room immediately fell into a pit of raucous chaos.

"Angel! How could you?" Gazzy cried out the loudest. His sister didn't even spare him a glance. Instead she stared at Max and politely greeted her before hopping up onto David's stomach to sit.

"Hey David. Are you bored in this room with these losers yet?" She asked with a smile.

'_She knows about the injections. Remember to play along. It's a game.'_

"Only a bit. I did get some cookies out of it though!" He responded with a false smile and cookie induced genuine cheer. Nobody could really tell the difference between the two.

"Oh don't worry about staying to much longer! Anne told me that you'll get to leave soon and then we can play again."

"After he does his chores though." Anne interjected kindly, like she was David's mother or something. The blackette teen almost threw up a little at the thought of that.

"How do you get some chow in this joint?" Max asked in a pathetic attempt to change the subject.

"We'll get you something now." Jeb said softly, smoothing her hair back from her face.

"Yeah! It'll be like a last meal!" Angel stated looking directly at Max with her piercing blue eyes.

"As you probably know Max, we're retiring all of our outdated recombinant life-forms." Anne informed with a dull formality.

"Is that how you live with yourselves?" Cold rage that wouldn't be easily recognized through Max's flat tone flooded the almost sixth sense of the other four teens. "Did you get that term out of a thesaurus? Is that how you're able to sleep at night and look in the mirror in the mornings? How you live with yourselves? With using euphemisms for death. It's a pathetic endeavor that won't help you in the long run."

"I think it's time for those meals now." Anne commented without life. "Jeb, would you be so kind?"

"Can I borrow Max to help with them?" Jeb asked with what appeared to be true intentions of her doing just that.

"Sure, but take David with you, seeing as we put him in charge of this small group." And with that Angel was helping Anne undo the Velcro straps around David's wrists and ankles. Jeb's face fell but he quickly covered it by busying himself with Maximum's own restraints.

"Hurry up Jeb." Was all Anne said when she was finished and then she was leaving the room, holding Angel's free hand.

Jeb waited a bit after they left before leading the way with an emotionless Max and a frowning David following. He didn't say anything the whole way to a small kitchenette. He didn't say anything as he opened a large freezer and pulled out several large, pre-prepared meals. With the help of the two teens he had them all unwrapped and placed in the also very large oven.

"What ever it is you wanted to tell Max you might want to do soon. This room isn't wired and those meals will be done before you know." David said once they were done. Jeb gave him a shocked but calculating look.

"How do I know that you won't tell the Director?" He asked with justified suspicion.

"You may be smart, Jeb, but I only know of one person in the world who knows everything and she's telling me to tell you to hurry up." David stated as he flicked his hair casually away from his face and leaned against a nearby counter. "The injections weren't what they were supposed to be. My friend fucked with them. In fact, she's the same friend I'm talking to now."

"How are you talking to someone almost two hundred yards away?"

"My friend's just special like that. Now hurry the fuck up. You have fifteen minutes."

Jeb quickly turned to Maximum. She turned away.

"Max, I don't have the time for this game. I need to talk to you about something important. You can hate me all you want but just listen to me."

"Why should I listen to a backstabbing traitor?" Max hissed. David gave her a look that implied stupidity.

"It's good to be cautious when dealing with an enemy, Max. But sometimes it's smarter to hear them out before drawing a conclusion of their betrayal." David threw in helpfully. "Listen now. Decide later. It usually helps in the long run."

"Max, what if I told you that you were the daughter of the most powerful person in the world? A person who was the head of a remarkable organization bent on saving the world and becoming a leader in the scientific rulings. What would you do?"

"Ask who they were and demand a DNA test."

"What if they were cynical and power hungry?"

"Get the DNA test myself and if I was his or her daughter I would dye my hair, change my name, get a fake passport and live in a remote area of the world."

"You'd do all that if even though you would have an alarming amount of power just by being someone's daughter?"

"Heck yes if they were cynical bastards."

"But think Max, you would be the most powerful teen in the history of the world. Think of what you could do with influence like that."

"_If_ I did have power like that, the first thing I would do is arrest everyone involved in the gold-digging power-hungry plan and chuck them into jail for life."

"Is that all Maximum?"

"No. I would make all environmentally healthy actions law and shut down companies that polluted the world and I would seize the hidden money offshore to give to charities and make sure that education and health care were free for all. And all wars would have to be fought on foot with swords!"

"That's good Max. It means you've passed another test."

* * *

**Jaded: **The end! Now I'm going to rant about everything that's been bothering me for the last month.

* * *

Just kidding! XD

* * *

"Test!?" Max questioned with indignation. "Everything is always going to be a test, isn't it?"

"Life is a test." David said from where he was leaning. "Always has been, always will be. It's often like a game of Hide-and-Go-Seek-Tag, played in a giant maze with all the lights turned off and only a glowstick to show you the way. Everyone is trying to get out first, hiding in the shadows, and disregarding everyone else. All trying to run from the inevitable end of darkness that's soon to come when their glowsticks run out of light. But sometimes you meet someone willing to offer a hand when you trip over a stray root."

The kitchen was silent as David let the other two occupants ponder that thought.

"And now you have three minutes." He informed them after a bit though.

"Maximum," Jeb said, getting her attention again. "If you get out of this place, there will be a time when you will be able to relax. Do so because as soon as that time's up everything will be flung into double time and if you miss your step the dance will be thrown off."

And at that moment the oven dinged.

Together Jeb, Max and David rolled a small trolley down the halls back to the room where the flock and David's friends were waiting. On the trolley shelves were dull, grey trays holding the quick meals and individually wrapped white sporks, a napkin, and a straw for the small cartons of milk in the bucket of ice on top of the cart.

When they reached the room they found everyone already un-strapped from their respectable hospital beds and the three immediately began handing out the trays of food with a milk. Once the trolley was cleared Jeb left and everyone dispersed into their own areas of the prison-like room.

Iggy sat with Nudge and Gazzy in a small circle, trying to get them to laugh. (It didn't take long with Iggy's personality working on the job.) Fang sat alone with his back against a wall while Max couldn't figure out if he should sit with the other members of the Flock or with Fang because she was not going to sit with the group of four laughing like it was nothing to be trapped in a test lab and playing with their food.

She opted for sulking Fang.

"Hey," Max called softly as she sat down next to Fang, placing her tray on top of her crossed legs. He looked over at her and acknowledged her with a nod in the silent way he had. She gave him a small smile and they both dug into their food.

Fang was the first to finish, setting his tray on the floor next to him and pushing it as far away as he could. When the tray slowly skidded to a stop and barely tapped the other wall he was satisfied and rested his head back against the wall. Feeling full but not content he chose to close his eyes to the death chamber, a retreat in a way.

Several minutes later he felt a small weight on his shoulder and cracked one eye open to investigate. Max had laid her head down there and was staring ahead at something, probably thinking. Fang almost smiled at the contact.

"Why do you think they do that?" She said after a pause.

Fang opened his eyes and followed her gaze. She was watching the four non-flock members of their group. Gabe and Maxi were sitting next to each other across from David who was sitting in Lindsay's lap. They were laughing and David attempted to pout at something Maxi said but couldn't help laughing. So instead he threw his Spork at her, which just caused her to laugh even more.

"Do what?" Fang asked, not really seeing what Maximum was talking about.

"Act like idiots and play around when they should be serious, and not care about anything." Max stated with frustration as way of explanation. David had just lunged at Maxi and they were rolling around on the floor in a mock fight. Gabe was trying really hard not to laugh knowing that if she did the blackette would likely come after her next.

"Maybe because they'd rather let things like being stuck in a place they hate slide like water off their backs instead of being so pessimistic." Fang responded, shrugging nonchalantly and smirking at Max. His leader didn't find that funny.

"Shut up," she muttered playfully, giving him a small shove. "But seriously, why?"

"You want to know what I really think?" When Max nodded Fang continued. "Well . . . I think that they do things like that because otherwise they might get too stressed. They wouldn't be able to think clearly if that happened and then what? I also think they do it because it's how they stay close. If they aren't able to joke around when things get hard or act then they would feel as if they weren't as close as they could be. If they're comfortable . . . groping each other playfully or making jokes about how one of them can't make a sentence worth crap then they're close."

"That sounds stupid." Max said flatly.

"Maybe to you but to them I guess it's perfectly logical."

"Whatever," Max sighed, laying her head back on Fang's shoulder. The two fell into a comfortable silence. Fang smiled as he felt that fluttering feeling in his chest and a spreading warmth.

* * *

The next day when everyone was strapped back into their beds and either sleeping or thinking, because no one sure as hell was talking, the big dude from before, Ari, slipped into the room and borrowed Max for a bit. Gabe kept her family up to speed on what went on with Maximum while everyone just lied there.

Max was gone for long enough for the uniformed flock members to get restless, which made Gabe realize how depraved of her Urn marijuana she was. Yes, Gabe was a stoner. In fact, without her marijuana she could get quite bi-polar and girly. David shuddered when even the tiniest inkling of something like that happening crept into the dark recesses of his mind.

"Everyone needs a~ Mitzsterfiffle, Mitzsterfiffle, Mitzsterfiffle, Mitzsterfiffle! Then world peace would be achieved!" David randomly began to sing.

"Shut up," Fang muttered, tired of the shittyness of the shituation they were in.

"You don't like my singing?" David questioned with a pout, looking to Fang, eyes brimming with fake tears.

"I don't mind you singing. It's when you start spitting nonsense is when I get annoyed."

"Fine," David huffed. After a minute of silence though he began to sing again. "This is the song that never ends~! Doo-doo-doo! It just goes on and on my friends~! Doo-doo-doo! Some people, started singing it not knowing what it was! And they just kept on singing it forever just because~ This is the song that never ends~! Doo-doo-doo! It just goe-"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone yelled at him this time.

David was quiet for a while after that but began to hum when the urge to sing became overwhelming. Gabe recognized the tune immediately and began to hum along. Together they didn't even get passed the first chorus before David began to whisper the words under his breath.

" . . . really that important that I settle down

Does it really even matter that I have my doubts

I search for the one who bleeds

I reach for the one who bleeds."

By the end of the verse Gabe had joined in and David's voice had gained more passion, like the song called for.

"I forget to dream in color

I am better off alone

Honest hearts are undercover

We are shadows on our own

Lose ourselves in open waters

Always swimming back to shore

My addictions have no boundaries

Now I'm crying out for more."

Unknown to the two lost in their own thoughts as they sang, every single person in the room was listening to them with a kind of thoughtless rapture. The two's voices blended nicely, creating a kind of soft and melodic tune even though the song they were singing had more of a harsh one. But it fit.

"Can you tell

That I picked my poison well

That I have no more to sell to you

Is it really that important that I settle down

Does it really even matter that I have my doubts

I search for the one who bleeds

I reach for the one who bleeds

Like me."

Two people who had finally come back to the room but not yet entered heard the last half of this verse. Outside the door Ari and Max were waiting: caught in the harmony of the song.

"I have my doubts

I have my doubts

And so does everybody else

So help me take this all away

You gotta help me take this all away

Please help me take this all away

And bleed like me

So help me take this all away

You gotta help me take this all away

Please help me take this all away

And bleed like me."

In the room where the scientists sat and observed the Flock a single man stood watching and listening as the two sang. He could feel that this song wasn't just a random one sung from boredom but one that conveyed emotions. His heart clinched slightly.

_'So sad…'_ he thought to himself, feeling their pain with understanding but not really _understanding_.

"Is it really that important that I settle down

Does it really even matter that I have my doubts

I search for the one who bleeds

I reach for the one who bleeds

I reach for

I reach for

I reach for

I reach for

I reach for the one who bleeds

Like me!"

The room was silent when the last note evaporated into the air and it stayed that way even after Max and Ari re-entered. Everyone had lost themselves in their own thoughts and chose not to speak. It lasted until the next day when everyone was let loose, all standing and stretching everything as far as it would go.

Out of the corner of her eye Max saw David do a full back bend. Several pops issued from his body. Maxine actually stood with her back to the wall and bent backwards until her hands were walking down the white structure. She walked all the way down so that she could grab her ankles. Gabe just linked her arms behind her back and lifted them until she heard a double pop.

"Are we going to die now?" Nudge asked Max and sidled closer to her.

"I don't know, sweetie," the blonde leader told her.

"We'll take down any mother fucker who tries to." David reassured her with a lopsided grin thrown over his shoulder. He had purposely left off the end of the sentence, so of course it didn't really make sense but it was understood.

Fang was staring at Max, and Max looked back – exchanging words without using any. Lindsay, being who he was, took up the spot next to Fang and let his head fall back to hit the wall behind them with a thud and sigh. It was almost as if he was some kind of protective wall between the silent teen and the door.

Nobody noticed when David, Maxi, and Gabe subtly stood close to the members of the Flock in a spread out sort of way. They were just barely in position before the door flew open with a whoosh and Anne Walker strode in purposefully, a tall man with sandy-brown hair following behind. And behind him was what seemed to be his lab assistant.

"Dese are dey?" He questioned as if he were looking down from a pedestal.

"We be them." Max said with snark. The guy was already pissing her off.

Her turned his watery, light blue eyes on her as if he were attempting to make her self-combust.

"Dis vould be de vun de call Max?" He asked then.

"That depends!" Maxi piped up. "Are you looking for Max – leader of flock, or Max…?"

"Idiot who can't walk a straight line." David finished for her.

"Hey! I can too." Maxi crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, I take pride in not having to walk a straight line though. My interests catch on both sides of the road."

Both David and Gabe face palmed while Lindsay rolled his eyes. No one else got the joke. (1)

"I can see vhy dey've been slated for extermination." The ugly, Eurotrash man stated casually while his assistant made notes on a clipboard.

"And I can see why you were voted 'least popular' in your class."

"No, Max!" David whined dramatically. "That was such a three-year-old's comeback. You should have said something like 'And I can see why you've never have any friends.' Or 'And I can see why even the nerds rejected you and shoved you in lockers.' It makes him seem like even more of a jackass _and_ has a sense of bitter irony."

The guy's jaw muscles clenched to keep from twitching too much. He turned on Nudge.

"Dis vun can't control her mouth or her brain. Obviously something vent wrong vis her thought process."

"Bite me!" She spat at him. Maxi held out her hand, not even trying to be discreet, for Nudge to five it.

"Und dis vun," he continued on to Gazzy. "His digestive system has disastrous flaws! Und dat vun, vell he is a complete failure."

"Yes Dr. Ter Borchet." The assistant muttered, writing furiously.

"Takes one to know one." Iggy commented with a scowl.

"De tall, dark vun has nothing special."

"What makes you think that?" Lindsay questioned, lifting his head from the wall and staring directly at Ter Borchet. Fang and Max were sharing glances while no one was looking, trying to communicate without making any noise.

"Well if you really know that there's nothing special about someone it's when there's nothing special about yourself and so if you really think that Fang isn't special like all people are then that must mean that you aren't special either."

Ter Borchet's ears turned red.

"Und you!" He turned on Max next. "You haf a malfunctioning chip, you get debilitating headaches, and your leadership skills are much less dan ve had expected."

"I can still kick your butt though. That has to count for something."

"On vis de questioning." He grit out between his teeth. "Call in the clients."

The Flock members all exchanged glances like "Wha~t?" while the assistant ran to the door and ushered in five Asian looking men. Anne left then, deciding it would be less of a hassle to watch from the monitors in the security room.

"Are they Chinese or Japanese, or maybe Korean?" Max muttered under her breath as she scanned them over.

"Chinese." David responded with.

"How can you tell?" Nudge asked.

"Very carefully."

"Now, I vill ask you a couple questions for our own purposes and ven they vill ask you de questions dat they vant answers do." Ter Borchet explained.

"You," he turned on Gazzy. "Vat ozzer abilities do you haf?"

"Uhm, well I have X-ray vision and can . . . " Gazzy trailed off but thankfully David had something special up his sleeve.

"Tap dance like an Irish River Dancer!"

Ter Borchet glared and ordered his assistant not to write that down.

"You better vatch vat you say. It's how you'll be remembered."

"Well then you can remember me telling you to kiss my-"

"ASS!" Maxi yelled out before anyone could stop it.

"Vat can you do dat vill keep us from terminating you vith dem?" He snapped at Maxine. She glared, having one of her few serious moments.

"I can strangle you by just looking at your ugly form." She stated, referring to her telekinetic abilities. Ter Borchet just scowled, not believing her in the slightest.

"You!" He barked while turning to Nudge next. "Do you haf any distinguishing abilities?"

"Well besides the wings, I once ate nine snickers bars in one sitting without throwing up. It was a record!"

"Nu-uh!" David threw his two cents in. "Cuz one time I drank a whole bottle of vodka and four liters of root beer, ate three snickers bars, a bag of skittles, six butterfingers, a pack of gum, and an entire tube of toothpaste that tasted like cherries!"

Maxi dropped to the floor in a fit of giggles, remembering that day, while Gabe chuckled quietly behind her hand. Even Lindsay had hunched over, his hand covering his eyes and his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. His lips were curled in a full-blown smirk as he recalled caring for David two days after that incident and how he ended up nursing him back to health.

"Vhy vould you do something so stupid?" Ter Borchet asked with disgust that mirrored most of the Flock's expressions.

"A dare and to prove that I could." David said as if it were nothing. Ter Borchet's eye twitched.

"Dat is de most disgusting daeng I've heard of." Gazzy said, sounding just like Ter Borchet. The man wheeled on him.

"Mimicry! Write dat down." He was exclaiming, probably glad to finally have gotten some information. "Now smart alecky boy, vat can you do?"

David glowered, knowing when he was being talked down to.

"Well, firstly I can manipulate fire," he said with a honey coated, innocent tone. He paused and nibbled on his bottom lip for a second. Against the wall, Lindsay was watching with rapt attention. "And I can also uhm, cook really well and well, lastly I can chop your big doughy body up in little pieces starting with your dick and the fattiest parts so that you won't die until the very end and then bar-b-que the meat and feed it to all your coworkers. When they say "Mmm this is good!" I'll tell them it was you."

He ended his description with a sweet smile that even reached his eyes. Ter Borchet's face had paled and he looked very close to throwing up. That he could believe. The Chinese were now eyeing the blackette teen with suspicion.

"I think dat ve are done for now." He turned to the five men. "You may ask dem your questions."

The lead Chinese man nodded his head and stepped forward to start with the questions in heavily accented Chinese. When they were still nowhere after ten minutes Gabe decided to step in.

Quietly she walked forward, drawing the attention of the men. With her arms at her sides she bowed at the waist so that her torso was at a thirty-degree angle. Following the greeting custom the head Chinese man bowed back.

"Nín hǎo," she said as she was straightening. "_My name is Gabe. I'll answer your questions privately since they aren't going to answer them for you._"

"_Ah, thank you very much. It'll be a great help since they aren't choosing to cooperate."_ The man she spoke to said with glee at the fact someone could not only give him the information he wanted but in his own language too.

"What is she saying to them?" Max asked Maxi. She shrugged.

"I don't speak Chinese. I wouldn't know. Hey David!" She whisper-called to her bestest buddie. He was frowning in concentration and held up a hand to silence her.

After a moment she stopped frowning and turned to the group.

"She's answering their questions about the Flock." He said after using his limited Chinese and fill-in-the-blank.

"What!?" Maximum screamed.

"It's better than having you die!" He retorted before she could rant about anything. He didn't exactly get why he'd been stuck with these idiots but somehow knew that he was there for a purpose. "Escape is easier when you're not locked in a cage."

And that purpose was most likely to keep them alive and hope they learned something from his family.

* * *

When Ari came again that afternoon to get Max the four non-Flock members were taken along to be dropped off in another, comfier room. Still a prison, but there were better beds and a shower and they were able to change their clothes if they so wished. Funny thing was the room was actually split into two with a door in the partition so the four could visit each other and the girls were in one room while the boys went into the other. Probably to keep them from doing _naughty_ things. (But that purpose is pretty much defeated when you have one gay boy and three bisexuals.)

The bathroom was a shared affair though and at that moment David was using it, the last to do so. When he was done there was a fluffy, white towel to dry off with and a pair of black boxers and a comfy white outfit. David completely surpassed the t-shirt and only pulled on the boxers and loose pants. He walked out into the "Boys Bedroom" with his towel draped over his head.

Sitting on the unoccupied bed he began rubbing the towel through his hair to get as much water out as possible. On the other bed his boyfriend sat staring at the ceiling with a blank expression, his eyes holding a far away look. With a sigh David chucked his used towel at the blonde's head.

Lindsay immediately grabbed the towel from his face and sat up, throwing it back at the younger male. David held up his hands to block his face with a chuckle. There was a moment of silence where Lindsay was thinking before David frowned and opened his mouth.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly, scooting to the edge of his bed. The blonde just shook his head and laid back down with a muttered, "Nothing."

David stood up and sat down crossed legged on the bed at the other teen's hip. He gently prodded the blonde's stomach.

"Tell me." He said with a pout.

"You'd hit me if I did."

"Is it perverted?" The blackette asked, laying on his stomach and resting his chin on his boyfriend's chest with his arms crossed in front of his face.

"No." The blonde cast a glance at David's face before going on. "But it pertains to the night that you guys were at Below Zero."

David frowned in confusion and Lindsay sighed when he saw it.

"I was the one who cornered you near the bathrooms."

The blackette teen frowned and slowly sat up. Then he felt a surge of anger wash through his body like a tide. Without even thinking about it he punched the blonde in the face.

His fist connected with Lindsay's cheek hard enough to knock some teeth loose but not really do an actual damage. The other male didn't even try to stop the punch. He hissed after it had been delivered though and made a face when he tasted blood.

"You were right when you said I was going to hit you." David stated darkly. "Gods, you're such an asshole."

"Yeah he is," Gabe agreed walking in through the door connecting their rooms. Maxi was in front of her, long blonde hair in a braid.

"I really need to cut my hair." She randomly said as she fiddled with the rope of hair. "So you punched him."

"Hell yes I did. Asshole deserved it." The black-haired teen muttered as he slipped off the side of the bed. "I'm gonna crash with you guys tonight. Too pissed to stay in the same room as him."

And with that he stalked into the girls' room and slammed the door. Lindsay sighed and sat up, looking at Max and Gabe.

"So what'd you do this time?" The other blonde questioned as she sat with her legs crossed on David's bed.

"Nothing," the male muttered. Gabe snorted.

"My ass." She ended up whispering under her breath.

* * *

That night when only guards and hard working scientists were awake, a small beep resounded outside of the non-flock member's door. Then there was a scanning sound and the lock on the door clicked. Slowly the doorknob turned and a hulking figure slipped into the room.

Creeping farther into the four's quarters the figure found three people sleeping in one bed. And there was David sandwiched between his two best friends with his back to the door. The person tried to move forward quietly.

"What are you doing Ari?" David inquired softly. Ari eeped, thinking that the blackette had been asleep.

"I came here to talk to you guys."

David sat up easily without waking either of his bed partners and looked at Ari. In the dark Ari could just barely make out the calculating look he was being given.

"I'm listening."

* * *

**Jaded:** Well that's all for now. The chapter was getting long and my next stopping place would have been several pages farther ahead. Already this thing is 15 pages (in Microsoft Word). So if you would be so kind as to review I might just get the next chapter out as soon as possible instead of procrastinating so much on it. :)

TTFN!! LUVS!


	9. here's the plan

The entire name of this chapter is actually **Wait! I'm getting something... *headwall* *headwall* *headwall* Okay, here's the plan...** It's from Road to Eldorado when Tulio and Miguel are in the brig of Cortez's ship. And I own none of it. The quote belongs to the script writers.

**Disclaimer:** not mine. Don't own. Don't sue. Could get creative here but I'd rather not. Not at the moment anyway. And Sorry for the wait... And please don't kill me! XD I've got the next chapter half typed! If that's an incentive not to. *inches away from mob*

Also... this isn't really edited at all. So....

* * *

"What are you saying, Ari?"

"Tonight they're going to kill everyone in the flock except Angel, because they think she's on their side now."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Not really. Angel was going to get Total to prove we were helping and then we were just going to run in and start bashing heads."

"Okay Ari, you snuck in here so I'm going to assume you can get in here again. If we're going to help you, you're going to have to find a way to get us out. When we're out we'll take over from there. All you and Angel will need to do is follow what we say."

Ari nodded solemnly.

"Okay so go and figure everything out because I'm tired and going back to sleep."

With that David laid back down, rolling over so his back was to Ari.

In seconds he was passed out. Ari stood up at the time and left, meeting his father and Angel on the other side of the door.

* * *

"I'm still pissed off at you." David mumbled into Lindsay's chest. He was sprawled over the blonde, using him as a pillow. "My other pillows have abandoned me. Gabe's in the shower and Max won't quit moving."

"Ah," Lindsay said, nodding a bit in understanding. "So how much longer do I have until I'm forgiven?"

"What time is it?" David asked.

"Eleven- twenty." Lindsay answered with after locating the clock in the room.

"Then several hours still. Until then shut up because I'm trying to sleep."

Lindsay smiled at his boyfriend's behavior, rubbing the smaller teen's back with a smile. Soon soft snores were being emitted from David's parted lips, a small bit of drool leaking out onto Lindsay's chest. But Lindsay closed his eyes contentedly.

He'd just started to drift off when the main door slid open noisily and Ari entered with Jeb, both carrying trays of food.

David groaned in annoyance at being rudely awoken again.

"Can't you people just let me sleep?" He groaned, rolling off the bed onto the floor dramatically.

"We've brought you lunch," Ari stated as Jeb went into the girls' room to put their trays of food on their beds.

David sat up as the abnormally large and slightly disfigured seven-year-old approached him. He handed a tray of food to Lindsay before leaning down to give David a tray of food too.

"We can't get you guys out. Anne's suspicious. Doubled guard outside your room." Ari whispered quickly.

"You mean we have to get out ourselves?" David questioned incredulously. He cursed when Ari nodded before turning to leave with the silent Jeb. As soon as the door closed David chucked a pillow at it in anger.

"FUCK!" He shouted. "How the fucking hell are we going to fucking get the fuck out of this fucking place?"

* * *

Later that afternoon found the four pacing in all directions, silently. Every once in a while one of them would pause, hold up their finger, shake their head and continue pacing. The other three who had watched the person in hope would then lower their heads and continue pacing also. They did this for half an hour before David plopped onto the ground.

He sat cross-legged with his arms folded across his chest and his black slouch, frowning at the floor. He was like that for ten minutes before his gaze slowly crawled over the floor, up the wall, across the ceiling and he was staring directly above where he was sitting.

"Is that a vent?" He asked while staring at the grate in the ceiling.

Suddenly all four of them were staring at it with light bulbs dinging over their heads.

* * *

20 minutes later

* * *

"You know," David grunted as he crawled ahead of everyone else in the ventilation system. "You'd think that, as a group of intelligent people, these scientist would consider their captives breaking out this way."

"Maybe they thought that if a person went through the vents they'd fall at one point and get caught or just get lost and die."(1) Lindsay suggested from the rear.

"Wouldn't that stink up the entire building though?" Maxi asked from in front of the other blonde.

"Probably," David said as he turned a corner. "They'd have trouble finding the body too because it'd smell just as bad everywhere unless you were right next to the corpse."

"Just think how much it'd suck to find out you were sleeping under a corpse for several weeks." Gabe commented with a scrunched face of disgust.

David disappeared from in front of her then and a loud crash resounded two seconds later. Gabe leaned forward and looked through the opened vent at David, sprawled on a table surrounded by scientists and a large amount of papers all in the middle of a meeting.

It was probably deathly silent as Gabe gracefully swung herself down next to David, using the hanging grate, and looked around. The scientist seemed to be completely shocked as Maxi and Lindsay joined the party on the boardroom table. They didn't even try to hide the screen on the wall showing the "By-Half" plan. Both parties stared at the other as if waiting for the other to make the first move.

Then a male scientist sprang up and lunged at David with a snarl. David jumped away, grabbed the nearest laptop computer as Maxi snatched up a big bundle of papers from the tabletop and ran with a shout to do so. Lindsay and Gabe ran ahead of them as they ran down the table toward the door as scientist all along the table made grabs at them.

Chairs were flung over in their haste to stand and catch them, and papers were knocked off the table as water was knocked over onto other computers. A scientist cried out in pain when Maxi kicked a _large_ Styrofoam cup of _steaming_ coffee onto their face and crotch. A woman screamed when David intentionally knocked a tall glass of flavored water over onto her own, very-not-water-proof, computer.

The four jumped off the edge of the table, successfully knocking down the blonde woman at the head of it, leading the presentation. David paused on his way though, and grabbed her computer, ripping the plugs attaching it to the screen out before Lindsay was ushering him out the door fast.

After that the hallway was filled with chaos.

Remember watching Scooby Doo as a little kid and seeing Fred, Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, and Daphne run from the bad guy chasing them and how when they went into a door in a hallway they came out completely different ones? Well that's basically what was going on in _this_ hallway of _this_ science building with four teens owning sailor's mouths and a very large group of angry scientist. And a guy in a bathtub running around -yes carrying his bathtub, he even had his legs sticking out of the bottom- screaming "Can't a guy bathe in peace around here!" Obviously he'd had a tough week.

There were random bursts of flames out of some doors and rave music blasting from others with strobe light flashing and at one point five scientist stumbled out of a door dressed like the Japanese visual band Psycho le Cemu.

"Oh hey! Why do I have to be the girl?!" One of the scientists complained, fingering his newly pink, long hair.

"AH! DAISHI IS GOING TO EAT MY POCKY!" David shouted as he ran out one door and through another. Gabe stopped behind him and pointed and laughed before running with a scream again as the cosplaying scientist chased her.

After they disappeared through a door Maxi and Lindsay stumbled from the rave door looking thoroughly disheveled and being chased by a brain on a stick. Then DJ SiSeN, with goggles on his head and a green hair piece and green fishnet stockings and green shorts, ran out holding a key blade from Kingdom Hearts shouting something in Japanese, trying to follow the stick brain. Selia had to retrieve him.

For two full minutes after that it was completely silent in the hallway except for the buzzing of another broken florescent light. Then a bunch of cracking, popping, whizzing, and smashing noises reverberated through one door before David, Maxi, Gabe, and Lindsay toppled out from it. And at the opposite end of the corridor the group of scientists poured out.

The scientists tried to stare down the four teens. David glared at the scientists. Lindsay coughed uncomfortably. Gabe looked bored …or stoned. And something shiny distracted Maxi.

Then someone screamed and suddenly the teens were running in the opposite direction as fast as possible. The scientists took chase.

They hadn't even been running for very long before David suddenly stopped and the other three whizzed by in a rush of air.

"Is that a window?"

Gabe, Lindsay, and Maxi suddenly stopped dead and back pedaled. The four stared down the smaller hallway at the window at the end, completely ignoring the imminent danger stampeding toward them.

It took three seconds of thought and they took off toward it.

"What if we can't get out the window?" Maxi asked fearfully as they sprinted toward it.

"We can." David said, panting between words as they ran. "There is just a special way to." He slowed to a stop and pointed at a sign next to the window.

Just then Gabe emerged from a door on the left holding her teddy bear backpack, David's blanket and computer, Maxi's Twizzlers and Dots, and Lindsay's jacket.

"Hey guys!" She exclaimed. "I found our stuff."

"Found my ass, you knew." David mumbled under his breath.

Just then the door across from the door Gabe had just come from opened and Ari stumbled out with Angel and Total.

"HIYA peoples!" David said and opened the urn, which was in the teddy bear backpack, and dumped all their things into it. He dropped the bag back into the urn, knowing the Urn Faerie would take good care of it. Gabe put the teddy bear onto her back and helped David usher everyone toward the window.

"Swan dive out. Every body swan dive out, now." David said while pushing everyone ahead of him. One by one they dropped out the window in perfect swan dives.

By this time the scientists had caught up with them and David's left foot was caught as he jumped out the window. Reacting on instinct he just continued on his way, kicking the man in the face with the heel of his foot, breaking the guy's nose. Blood erupted from it and David's foot was dropped.

The man smacked into the non-existent glass then, smearing blood all over it's invisibleness.

"HOW DID THEY KNOW TO SWAN DIVE?" The man shouted furiously.

Shaking in fear, another scientist pointed to a red sign with white words. It was the same David had pointed to earlier.

_Please swan dive,_ the white letters spelled out. And a picture of a stick figure swan diving was underneath it.

Consumed in anger, and not thinking, the already bleeding scientist punched the sign. He broke one knuckle and bruised the others

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the motley group of mutants was flying above the School looking for a place to land. But it seemed that all the rooftops were covering in a fine network of electric netting. The sun was just setting.

"So where exactly is this going to happen?" David asked, looking at Ari.

"It should be right over there, in that courtyard," Ari answered pointing to a very large courtyard with lush green grass.

"Well does anyone see a place to hide?" David questioned the entire group.

Everyone responded with a negative. So David turned to Gabe. He didn't even have to say anything and she was pulling ahead of him, moving toward the tallest building in the school. It was only five stories high but it seemed to be the only thing they could land on because of the electric wire on every other rooftop.

As they approached the building the cameras on the edges were broken in several small explosions thanks to Maxi.

Gabe was the first to land on the rooftop. Then David and Lindsay, and after then Angel, Ari, and Maxi. David immediately walked to the edge of the roof closest to the courtyard they were supposed to be watching. He stared out across the landscape of the School.

"We have a perfect view of the two doors in that courtyard," David commented quietly at Gabe's approach.

"Ari," He then called, voice louder. The disfigured boy looked over at him.

"What exactly goes on in this place?" David turned to face the boy.

"Genetic Experiments," Ari replied to the question. "First it was just combining human DNA with an animal's. Now they're making super-humans. I've seen babies that can bench-press the weight of a car and other's that can solve long, difficult math equations and they aren't even potty trained."

"I see… And Ari, what are you?"

"A failure. Mistake," Ari mumbled. "I wasn't born as an Eraser or with wings. I was changed after I had started growing already. Now I'm the only thing left besides the flock."

"Why is that? Why are they killing all past 'mistakes?'"

"They say they are moving forward. And imperfections aren't allowed in their 'new' world. They're only leaving me alive because I'll be dead soon anyway and… I'm Jeb's son."

"Uh-huh… Well these scientists are a bunch of fucking idiots and assholes no matter what their high school yearbooks say or the fucking IQ tests they religiously took declare.

"You were left alive, Ari because they don't want to waste energy killing a dead man. Jeb doesn't even pay attention to you, does he?" It wasn't a question. "Ari, remember that this is your life, no matter what anyone else says. You're not dead yet, even though you may be imprisoned, and you should remember that every fucking day when you wake up. You can always fight back. Remember that okay?"

Ari nodded his head slightly as he bowed it, looking at the rooftop underneath them. David turned back around to his staring out.

It was silent a long while before Gabe scooted closer.

"Speak," she commanded.

"I hate not remembering." He said promptly. He didn't need to explain. She already knew.

"The dreams are more vivid. Every time I fall asleep they get worse. I can't remember anything before living in Konoha and I can't remember any of the dreams I have that aren't completely fucked rainbows and jrockers and weird plot twists.

"And I've been feeling uneasy for a while. Something's going to happen soon. I can feel it in the air, the trees, the wind and the fire. It gives me goose bumps whenever I feel it."

Gabe nodded.

People who didn't understand questioned why she chose to listen to people talk. She already knew what they were thinking, and feeling. But she enjoyed human interaction. Especially interaction with her friends, and hearing their voices, especially David's, always retrieved her when she was too lost in her mind.

Suddenly David stopped talking (in the middle of a sentence that Gabe had zoned out from) and his gaze zeroed in on the courtyard they were waiting for something to happen in. One set of doors was opening and a large shadowy blob was moving across the grass, toward the center of the yard.

"Let's move. Single file, follow me." David said loud enough for everyone to hear.

And he climbed up on the ledge, snapped open his wings, and fell off. His wings carried him down the side of the building in a near ninety-degree angle with the ground. He changed angles quickly and hovered over the rooftops, staying low to not be noticed, even as he dropped down over the edge into the courtyard.

Maxi led Ari and Angel in the same tactic, not more than ten yards behind David.

"He's anxious about something. What?" Lindsay asked Gabe as she gracefully stepped up onto the ledge and crouched down. She turned toward him, the air around her back fluttering slightly from her wings.

"Ask him," she said and fell over the edge sideways, quickly righting herself on the drop down.

Lindsay was left contemplating for half a second before following her.

When he landed next to everyone a pip was shoved into his hands and David was conducting everyone.

"Ari, you work on fleeing the flock. They're in a large cage. We'll cover your back and split some skulls."

Gabe smacked him on the back of the head.

"Fine, we'll bash some heads in." David corrected himself. "Angel I want you in the air as cover. And Ari, let Total out of your jacket if they don't believe your trying to help. Total, your job is to get the flock moving into the air. Don't let them try to fight. Got that?"

"Yep," Total's muffled voice came trough Ari's jacket.

"Okay, and we're off!"

Angel took silently to the air with a crowbar in hand. She'd be waiting above for chaos to break loose.

The others crept along the ground easily slipping into the group of scientists unnoticed. David went farther than the others, sneaking slowly up behind Ter Borchet as he spoke.

"Believe it," he was saying in response to something Fang had said. "Tonight ve implement our Re-Evolution plan! Vhen ve are done ve vill haf a world of less dan a billion people. Each country vill be under out control! Dere vill be no illness, no weakness. De new, strong, smart population vill save dis planet und take us into de twenty-second century!"

"Fuck off," David whispered into his ear. "What'll save 'dis planet' is _eliminating_ people like you."

And there was a melon-like splat as he swung the crowbar Angel had tossed him into Ter Borchet's head. The man fell to the ground like a lump of fat without bones.

"Thanks," David whispered, tossing the crowbar back up to the girl above him.

She caught it and flittered off, hanging nearby out of sight as the doors opened again and another group of people came out with Anne in the lead. David turned to the cage, easily able to make out the flock members in there.

"Max, act like you're still talking to Ter Borchet. Gazzy, mimic him." He ordered and was glad to hear it followed.

"You are a… delusional megalomaniac!" Max said, faltering in the middle but it went unnoticed as something unusual by the approaching group.

"Nussing you say vill bosser me," Gazzy said in a perfect impression of Ter Borchet. "You are going to be eliminated soon."

David gave them a thumbs up, urging him to continue as he slipped back into the now fearful group of scientists. They wouldn't dare make a sound knowing they could be the next to end up like Ter Borchet, who it seemed wasn't even breathing.

* * *

Gazzy looked to me fearfully as he mimicked Ter Borchet and I could tell he had no clue what was going on. Truthfully I didn't either. David had just appeared out of no where holding a crowbar, smashed Ter Borchet upside the head, threw it somewhere, and left, Ter Borchet still on the ground.

"You haf failed all de tests," Gazzy managed to say, probably hoping it sounded like something Ter Borchet would say. "You are… no longer useful."

It sounded enough like him that I was able to say one of my witty comebacks that always seemed to tick everyone else off.

"But we're dang cute," I said, imagining I was talking to the lump on the ground.

"Children," Jeb's voice called when he was within hearing range. Thankfully they were coming up on the side of the cage to left of Ter Borchet.

"It doesn't have to be this way."

"Okay then," I said with a scowl. "Let us out of the cage and it will be different."

Jeb said nothing more. Instead it was Anne who spoke.

"You know what's really sad?" She asked. "We gave you every chance-"

"No! You didn't," I interrupted. "Giving us ever chance would mean letting us out of this cage. This way you've only given us some chances!"

"Max!" She barked. "It wouldn't have to be like this if you just had cooperated-"

"I'm not a lab rat. No matter how much you wish I was!" I shouted at her.

"This is why you cannot be in the new world. You're not useful like this!" She shouted back.

"Well what is considered 'useful' to people like you? Why do your opinions matter so much?" I yelled. These people, especially this woman, were pressing my buttons to easily.

"So who else, what other people, are going to be _murdered_ in this plan of mass genocide? At least tell me that."

I have to admit that it felt really good to yell at the people who've made my life suck for too long. But by then I was just trying to stall. I had no clue what David was doing, where he'd gone, or what he was planning. I just hoped he did something soon if he was on our side, and we all got out alive.

"If you really want to know Max, it'll be the smart people who've learned useful trades. The people who follow orders. They'll survive. Art will be a myth after the Re-Evolution Plan has begun. Classical music might be the only artistic form that survives. Politicians, celebrities, teen idols will all be past us. Forgotten-"

Suddenly Anne screamed, dropping to the ground griping her hip. It revealed David behind her, casually tossing a lead pipe onto his shoulder like a baseball bat leisurely ready to be used.

"Don't even fucking think of touching the art industry while I'm still living, bitch." He said and smirked.

Things became very interesting after that.

Fang lunged at the bars of the cage in an attempt to knock them out or bend them but they didn't budge. Outside the cage whitecoats were hitting the ground faster than falling leaves in the late months of autumn. And then Ari appeared and began chewing at the bars in his Eraser form. I saw Angel flitting around in the air, swinging a crowbar at the whitecoats' heads.

But even as they fell to the ground, more kept appearing and soon there were the Eraser replacements -Flyboys- in the mix too.

"Just tell me when Max, and I'll take him down," Fang said quietly. I nodded once. Then Nudge spoke up.

"Angel isn't going to just let him get us, is she?" She questioned, hurt sounding. "She'll hit him before he gets us right? I mean she is fighting the whitecoats isn't she?"

"Angel never was a traitor. She's not going to let Ari get us honey. She's been my spy. She was going to be the one to get us all out once things went downhill." I finally spilled what I knew. Four pairs of eyes –one of them not actually seeing- stared at me.

"I uh- don't know what's going on with the others though," I mumbled pathetically after a couple of seconds.

Then we were all backing in shock as Ari's big Eraser paws appeared out of nowhere, prying the bars of the cage apart. He grabbed at Gazzy, him being the smallest and all. I kicked at him but he still somehow managed to grasp the Gasman's leg. Gazzy gave a cry that both equally fear and anger and began punching and kicking at Ari.

Ari seemed determined though and dragged him, surprisingly gentle, out of the cage. Then he was throwing Gazzy into the air with the order to "GO!" He unzipped his jacket as he turned back to the cage; a small, black, hyper furry mass sprang to the ground.

"Come on! Lets go! Lets go! Lets GO! Into the air guys!" Total shouted.

Fang was in motion before I could blink. He bounded from the cage, snatched up Total, and was in the air with Gazzy in less time than it took for me to usher Nudge to the hole in our small cage.

She took to the air and then Ari was right there again, taking Iggy's wrist and pulling him out of the cage. I winced as I heard his clothing rip several times from being caught on the mangled metal. But the Ari was forcing him into the air and Iggy just followed, a bit disoriented from not really being able to see and know what was going on. I could see and I didn't even really know what was going on, I just was taking the chance to escape.

I was next and I leapt from the cage into the air, not looking back as Ari just let us go, even helping us get out.

Already flying as far away as possible was my flock, minus Angel who joined me almost immediately after I'd taken flight, and Maxi. I could hear David though; behind us, laughing as there was a howl of pain from the ground.

Something flew by me then, spinning. I realized it was one of their makeshift weapons that had helped us to escape. Gabe zoomed past Angel and I then, actually grabbing Angel and propelling her forward, higher into the sky. I heard shouts and bullets whizzing through the air. We were too high up. They couldn't touch us unless it was with a bazooka.

I turned around and spotted Ari. He was just standing there watching us. And the gun wielding men were running right at him. He seemed oblivious to it.

"ARI! Get up here!" I shouted. I sounded desperate to my own ears. "QUICK!"

He looked right at me and I could see the shock and then happiness as he opened his grafted wings. Then it happened. Someone, not one of the gun wielders, shot something at him and he suddenly convulsed violently. When his body stopped shaking, he fell to the ground, unmoving.

I heard myself shout his name as I moved to go back but someone grabbed my arm. I looked over to find David pulling on it with enough force to dislocate my shoulder. He wasn't looking at me as I struggled.

"Max. He's gone." He said. "He's dead."

"How do _you_ know that?" I shouted. He jerked his head to look at me then.

"They just hit him with enough voltage to bring down an elephant." David said firmly. "He's not going to get back up. We need to get out of here."

An explosion shook the air then and parts of the school erupted skyward. David spun on Gabe, still holding my arm in his iron grip.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

"Convinced some walking brains to play kickball in a room of chemicals with a tube of nitroglycerin." Gabe answered with a grin.

"Cool," Iggy commented.

I had no ambition to glare at him or make a remark as David dragged me through the air, my wings acting more like a glider than wings. I may not have liked Ari than much but recently I'd been able to see the frightened seven-year-old that he was. His death still hurt.

* * *

The sky was lighting up when we reached a very familiar cliff and stopped in a very familiar cave. Everyone was exhausted. I was the last to fall asleep though, and it happened within ten minutes of landing. I was just so tired. We all were. Tired of everything.

* * *

**Jaded's Note:** So yeah this is actually only half of what I wrote over the summer and I was originally gonna stop a long way ahead but it was getting long in Word so I decided here was as good as any!

Review. Comments are like crack. Feed the addiction. O.O *twitch*


	10. And so we move

**A/N:** Yeah so here be anotha chapta. I posty it now. See! See. Anyway this is to sayeth HAPPEH! Holidayseth~! Read eet nao.

* * *

"Yeah… We flew with those hawks." A voice that sounded a lot like Nudge was saying. I opened my eyes to a cave wall.

"Just some fun quirks to being a mutant on the run?" David asked. I blinked. I couldn't hear the others. No breathing even.

"I guess you could say that. …Even though we're always on the run and stuff, we had a lot of fun before too." Nudge said.

Slowly, carefully, I sat up and looked around. Nudge and David were the only two in the cave with me.

I stood up and quietly walked over. It was weird actually because Nudge was just sitting there, quiet and still, talking to David. Their wings were out, loose and relaxed, and they were dangling their legs over the edge of the cliff. The hawks were out flying and the two were watching them in the orange light of the setting sun.

"Hey Max," Nudge said softly, looking at me as I stepped up behind them. Orange glowed in her brown eyes.

"Where are the others?" I asked, feeling a little left out. But they wouldn't know that.

"They went to get some food." David said. "It's nice, isn't it."

"What is?" Nudge questioned.

"This." David breathed, flicking a hand at nothing really. "It's calm, content, quiet, beautiful. I wish I could take pictures."

"Why?" Nudge was the one to ask, again.

"I collect beautiful things. Pictures, clothing, words, music, ideas. I like to surround myself in beauty."

"I like beautiful things too." Nudge said. "Like, Max looked so pretty in that outfit when we went to that club. I drew a picture of her."

"Do you like clothing, Nudge?" David asked with a smile on his pink lips. …Wait. Pink lips? What the heck was I thinking? Where did that thought come from?

"Well, I guess. I don't really know." Nudge seemed a little confused and embarrassed.

David leaned back onto his elbows and I noticed the orange from the sun changed his normally pale skin to a soft cream color. Like the color that people try to paint their walls when they want someone to be comfortable without straying from white.

"Let me rephrase," David said, laughing a little. "Have you ever seen someone wearing an outfit you wished you could wear or ever thought it would be cool to have a lot of clothing to wear?"

"Well yeah-"

"Nudge, do you think it'd be fun to help me with a couple clothing related ideas I have in mind? You'd be like a model of sorts. Just for fun you know."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I interrupted. I had to wear the clothing David picked out and I did not want Nudge to start dressing like that.

"Chill Max," David drawled lazily, looking up at me with a smirk. "We're no where near where we're heading so there's no pressure. It's not like I'm in dire need of a model. I have Maxi and Gabe if she doesn't want to wear something.

"I just wanted her to consider the idea because it'd be fun. Okay?"

He turned his head away from me then just as Nudge spoke excitedly.

"They're back!" She exclaimed and her stomach rumbled.

Sure enough a group of large dots getting bigger by the second were approaching us from near the bluer horizon. Soon they were all landing, carrying numerous takeout bags of food and trays of ten extra-large sodas. I had no clue how they even flew with all that food.

"Alright!" Maxi barked. "Nudge your three ham and cheeses with extra cheese, curly fries, and mozzarella sticks are right here."

She held up a large bag and Nudge snatched it right up, soda already in hand (God I hoped there was no caffeine in it), with a loud "Thanks Maxi" barely heard over the rustling of bags and calling out of food exchanges and "Who ordered…"s.

"Hey, we didn't know what you wanted so we got you one of almost everything and a Sunkist," Maxi said quietly now that everyone else had their food.

I took the bag and orange soda offered to me with a muttered thanks of gratitude. I was starving and my stomach chose that moment to remind me with a light pang followed by a gurgle. Maxi had already moved on as I took a seat where I was standing.

"I didn't think a sandwich could be this good with so little on it!" Total suddenly exclaimed. I looked over at him along with everyone else, barely opening my bag. One by one little smothered snickers and giggles began to erupt all over the cave.

"I think you have something on your face, Total," Angel giggled.

Total frowned and wiped his paw over his mouth, smearing the cheese sauce stuck in his fur around and getting it on the back of his paw too. He stared at it for a moment before glaring at us all. I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Oh ha ha," he growled and I laughed harder, noticing Fang laughing around a mouthful of fries from the other side of our shelter. I grinned.

Lindsay reached over with his free hand and ruffled Total's fur, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

I glanced up in the middle of eating as Maxi plopped down next to me with her own food, which had gotten lost in the chaos. Out of the corner of my eye I saw David move over next to Lindsay and lean back against his shoulder as they ate.

Everyone was silent except for the occasional word or two after that as we all chowed down. We all had a lot to eat and I think after shoving the first sandwich or handful of fries down our throats we were all ready to enjoy it.

It was dark by the time we finished and sometime in the midst of our munching someone had started a fire. Probably David.

"So sleepy," David yawned, finished with all his food and sipping on the remnants of his soda. Maxi yawned from beside me, and then Gabe did too. Lindsay's mouth opened in one too as he crinkled up his last wrapper and tossed it in one of the paper Arby's bags.

Iggy yawned. Fang yawned. And soon everyone was yawning (for the first time or a second one) in a large chain reaction.

"I hate you," Maxi said on the tail of her yawn, looking at David. He just lazily opened one eye and stuck out his tongue.

It wasn't much later that Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge were curled up and asleep, Total pressed against Angel's back in slumber too.

David's soda was cast aside and Lindsay wrapped an arm around his waist as he shifted to lie down on his back. He tucked his free arm behind his head, the edge of the fire inches from his fingertips if he were to stretch that arm out. David was pulled down with him, the younger teen half asleep already as he shifted onto his stomach. One of his legs fell between Lindsay's as he curled half on top of the blonde, using his chest as a pillow. He was completely asleep in seconds.

Soon Maxi was getting up and making her way closer to the fire where she lay down to sleep. Gabe joined her moments later so they were back to back in a comforting manner.

Lindsay was still awake, I could see that from the way he turned his head every so often, staring into the fire and glancing at David whenever.

The air was practically thick with slumber. Soft noises such as heavy even breaths, light snores, and occasional shifting, were calling to me, coaxing me to join in the nighttime orchestra of snoozing.

And God it was tempting. I felt so exhausted.

I scooted closer to the fire and laid down on my side, facing Fang who was leaning against the cave wall with his head back and eyes closed. Iggy was laying down and sleeping next to him.

He opened his eyes and met my tired gaze after a moment and I smiled at him. He smiled back and closed his eyes again. There was a gentle, heady, warmth filling the cave.

It was almost as if the cold from outside couldn't enter our little haven. Which is exactly what it was.

For the moment the world didn't need us. For the moment we didn't need the world. For a moment we had no responsibilities and we could just sleep and dream. For the moment reality couldn't touch us, fended off by the safety we felt all together as a large group just as the cold was kept at bay by the light and warmth of that fire burning in the center of our group.

I fell asleep and met peace-ridden, blissful darkness instead of nightmares or worries for the first time in a long while.

* * *

In the morning only two people were awake in the hour before noon, everyone else asleep, soundly. Gabe and David laid together, David's head on Gabe's stomach and both on their backs, next to the fire. And they talked.

"You were dreaming last night," Gabe commented.

"Obviously I don't remember what it was or you wouldn't have told me," David said back in a quiet, unassuming tone. He reached out with his arm and poked with all five fingers the curled t-shirt-clad back laying diagonally not six inches from Gabe and him, in the corner they'd created with their bodies. It moved out of reach and then relaxed again.

"It was peaceful."

David blinked.

"But it wasn't about what you normally dream about. The fucked r-"

"Rainbows and weird jrockers and twisted plots. I'd have remembered if it was like that. Did it have to do with…?" David rolled over so he was facing the female teen's ample chest. He stared at the whiteness of her shirt, tired of the cave ceiling for now.

"Did it have to do with the island?"

"Yes."

David swallowed nervously.

The island. It was a reoccurring theme in each of their shared dreams. Which meant that Gabe had been sharing his dream. He wondered if Maxine had shared it too. It was negated by a _feeling_ almost instantly though. It meant that the dream was his then.

Gabe was their connector. Her mental capabilities subconsciously allowed them to share dreams; never really knowing exactly whose it was when all of them did. When they all did they were separate views of the dream. When it was just Gabe intruding on the dream, she saw it through the vision of whoever was dreaming.

"You were smiling, and there were people. But they were just blurs. There was a beach full of white sand. You were young in the dream. A woman's voice laughed and a man's voice whispered undistinguished words. It rained suddenly and she was holding you like a baby as the rain poured down, cold and wet and you could feel it. And the woman continued laughing. You laughed. And the both of you were spinning.

"But it all stopped when the man's whispering faded. Then there was thunder and suddenly you were lying in a window seat facing outside. It was dusk and there were three windows, all entirely glass and only held together by plastic frames, and all around behind you there were candles. Their flames were reflected in the glass and you were watching the water stream down the windows. And the window seat was really_ plush_. It was comfortable and resting to lie like that.

"After that you started to leave REM and woke up soon after. I woke just before you."

David sighed. He wished that maybe he could remember that dream, even though Gabe's description painted a pretty picture and David's imagination was overactive, so that he could feel what he'd felt before and forgotten.

A worst fear of David's: forget.

"I wish I knew David," Gabe whispered. "Then you wouldn't have to fear it."

"I'm guessing you're suffering pretty bad too, considering most people have the _advantage_ of _not_ knowing _most_ of the time." And David's sarcasm conquered again. He needed those witty comebacks to break the monotony of thinking too much.

Its edge was lost though without David's accompanying smirk of triumph and humor.

"You coping okay?" Gabe asked.

David parted his lips, as if more smart, ridiculing remarks would spill forth, and found his mind and mouth empty of such. He sighed instead and turned his head into his friend's stomach and makeshift pillow.

"As best as I can I guess. I don't blame; you know that. Unless I'm faultfinding in the gods or fates or something other. Forgive and forget, the word 'forget' used lightly in the present context. Move on really," David said, calm and level. Not a facade, but just the truth of the matter. Stating facts.

"I know it hurts… and you don't want to talk about it. But I know you. You're just going to live around the problem until it comes up later, in explosion. You won't forgive until a sorry is said."

"Yeah but it's what you gotta do if you're gonna live your life."

Across the cave, Maximum began stirring. The two were silent. Within minutes she was awake, yawning, and sitting up.

Maximum turned her head and noticed David and Gabe, both on their backs after David had shifted again.

"Do either of you know what time it is?" The blonde asked, looking out the cave's entrance where the world outside was hot and lit.

"That depends on whether you want to know the time here or somewhere else-" Gabe said and was interrupted.

"Like Japan-" David suggested.

"Or Paris France-"

"Or Nigeria!"

"Here would be fine," Max grit out, cutting off whatever other countries and towns they might spurt out.

"Then it's only eleven-thirty," Gabe supplied the wanted information. She never needed a watch. Or a calendar. Or a compass!

"We should move-"

"I'd rather not but if _you_ want to feel free to walk around a bit," David said with his usual wit.

"I meant that we should leave soon. Flyboys from the school will be looking for us." Max was practically hissing it. But her anger left a moment later and she turned thoughtful. "I was meaning to ask before, do you know why the School wanted you guys? What exactly was going on? With Angel and… everything?"

"Well," David started. "They tried to give us false memories of living in the School but Gabe 'convinced' a lab assistant to tamper with the hypos for it."

"They probably wanted you for tests then," Max mused. "More than likely they were going to kill us off and play with you guys. Pick you apart and whatnot then kill you to make worse things with their newly obtained knowledge."

"That's a pleasant notion," David said, voice light like he was speaking of picnicking under a shady tree in the afternoons of a breezy summer day.

Max looked at him incredulously. The corner of his mouth twitched and she tried to scowl but her lips were straining in the other direction. He'd almost had her.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Iggy asked.

We were all flying scattered through the air, David and Gabe in the lead of our unformed formation.

Ahead, David angled his bat-like wings and dropped back and to the left so he was flying over our blind blonde. Fang was ahead of him and Nudge next to _him_. Angel was above me to right, smiling in the innocence of air and sun. Gazzy and Maxi were giggling and playing a small, leisure game of tag together, swooping around. On the other side of Angel and at the same altitude as me, Lindsay flew smoothly with his sepia wings beating a slow rhythm.

"To Big Wyoming, the Cowboy State!" David said in answer to Iggy's question.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. I would have heard you from up there," Iggy muttered, cheeks flushed in annoyance. David just quirked his lips into a smile.

"I know. I just didn't want to shout over my shoulder."

"If we're going to Wyoming, then why are we going east? Shouldn't we be going north?" Nudge asked, dropping back next to Iggy.

"Because we're going there a special way," Gabe called back over her shoulder.

I looked down, watching the ground pass by far underneath us. I the recognized something amazingly familiar!

"Oh my gosh," I whispered.

Before I thought about what I was doing, my wings were tucked in and I was hurtling toward the ground. Behind me I could feel annoyance and confusion in everyone else.

I opened my wings at the last possible second and landed in quick walk on a road. In front of me was something I never thought I'd see again. The trees and the yard and the home of Ella and Dr. Martinez.

"Max, what the fuck?" David questioned as he landed a ways away, jogging over. I glanced at him. He was still wearing the white pants provided by the School. I almost blushed when I looked at his bare chest, so pale in the sun, and quickly returned my attention to the building in front of me.

Fang landed next and came over too. The rest of our larger flock landing in a group, one after another.

"Max?" Fang asked quietly, reaching out and touching the back of my wrist briefly. I did blush then. Because, well it was _Fang_. And he was staring at me.

I moved forward a couple paces, noticing everyone watching me. I had to get out from between those two. It was making me really uncomfortable.

"Where are we?" Fang asked.

"At Ella's and Dr. Martinez's house," I said. I almost didn't believe it myself.

Just then the front door to the house opened and Dr. Martinez stepped out. She turned and was locking the door. Next to me Fang had taken a step backward in precaution.

Dr. Martinez paused, her key in the door, and turned around. I was unknowingly holding my breath. I saw her lips form one word.

'Max.'

Seconds later I was hugging her as she held me tight, stroking my hair and whispering. It felt so great to be back with her. I was trying not to cry, feeling this deep satisfaction just being held by her. Affection.

Then I remembered my flock (oh god _Fang_) and the other four. Immediately I felt embarrassed and I loosened my hold on Dr. Martinez. She took the cue and did the same, looking over my shoulder.

"Oh my," she whispered, eyes round.

* * *

**A/N again:** Review plz. Crit too! Break it down scene by scene if you have to! -pokes Lazy Bear- -wiggles eyebrows- ;)

Another should be out soon! I'm kicking my butt into gear! -**JADED**


	11. Chocolate Covered Chips AHOY!

**Story Title:** you should know this one if you're this far

**Chapter Title: **Chocolate Covered Chips (AHOY!)

**Rating:** _PG 13_/R -ish (_chapter_/story)

**Chapter:** 11/?

**Warnings: **un-beta-ed, fresh off ...my computer, some fluff (between my own characters), some Fang/Max

**Disclaimer:** I don't want to own this series. Trust me... I already have too much in my closet *cough* ahem *kicks door shut on Miyavi squirming around tied up* *Myv tries to chew through ribbon over his mouth*

**_Miyavi:_** FNRLT MRE RRRT!!!

**_Me:_** uhhhh have fun with Kyo!! XD *opens closet door* *tosses small box three feet tall in* *DANGER in big words on the side of the box* *slams door* He's pretty squished up in there. Be careful.

**_Box:_** *growls* *screams* *rattles*

_**Me:**_ lol such an angry little vocalist! XD

**Jaded's fore- words:** enjoy if you're still reading!!! X) It's filler but interesting.

* * *

"Max, are they your flock?" Dr. Martinez asked, staring transfixed at everyone.

"No not all of them," Max laughed. She stepped back towards the large group of mutants and grabbed Fang's t-shirt sleeve. With a jerk she yanked him forward, smiling while he was obviously displeased.

"This is Fang," Max introduced him, pushing him to Dr. Martinez. She offered her hand and after a moment Fang took it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Fang," Dr. Martinez said.

"And this," Max reached out for Iggy, pulling him closer by his elbow. "Is Iggy. He's blind."

Iggy stumbled a little as he was pushed forward like Fang had been before regaining his balance. He offered his hand to Dr. Martinez and she took it.

"For a blind man you sure know your bearings," Dr. Martinez complimented.

"Thanks. I've had practice," Iggy said with a smile.

"This is Angel. She's the youngest and the black, furry thing is her dog, Total."

"Hello Dr. Martinez. It's nice to meet you." Angel said sweetly and took Dr. Martinez's hand.

"Hey, what about me?" Total whined and Dr. Martinez stared in shock. She recovered quickly then and took Total's offered paw.

"It's nice to meet you too Total."

"This is Angel's brother Gazzy-"

"Hi. It's nice to meet you."

"-And lastly this is Nudge."

"Like oh my gosh. This is so cool. To you meet you and everything."

Dr. Martinez smiled and laughed. Then she was looking at the other four.

"And who are they?" She asked, noticing they hadn't been introduced as flock members.

"They are our friends. We've been flying with them," Max explained and David stepped forward.

"Hey I'm David, the smart one." David smiled mischievously as he took Dr. Martinez's hand. Maxi stepped up and bumped him out of the way with her hip and took Dr. Martinez's hand instead.

"He's lying. I'm so much smarticler than him. I'm Maxine by the way but I hate that name so just call me Maxi. Everyone else seems to be doing so." Maxi smiled the dorkiest yet, all teeth and closed eyes and the movement of her shaking hand holding Dr. Martinez's hadn't stopped yet.

Gabe dragged her back as Dr. Martinez watched amusedly.

"They're both lying. I know everything. The name's Gabe. It's short for Gaberiella."

Lindsay stepped up and took Dr. Martinez's hand after her, much like Fang had. No fun and games. Short and sweet introduction and that was all.

"So you all have wings like Max then?" Dr. Martinez asked once there was no one left to introduce and it'd been quiet for a minute.

"Well all the flock members have wings like Max," David said. "And so does Lindsay. They're bird wings but us three are a bit different."

He motioned at himself, Maxi, and Gabe.

"Like Maxi has bat wings that started out black-"

"Started out?" Dr. Martinez interjected. David nodded.

"Yeah they were black for most of her life and then she ticked Gabe off and now they're…"

He trailed off and Maxi extended one of her wings enough for Dr. Martinez to see.

"Pink," Maxi finished David's sentence.

"Oh," Dr. Martinez said with her eyes wide.

"Hey guys," Nudge interrupted. "I think we should get off the street. People are staring at us."

She pointed at a jogger in a purple tracksuit that had stopped to ogle at them. Framed by a window of another house an old lady stared out at them.

"Yes, well let's get inside then. Are you guy's hungry?" Dr. Martinez questioned and ushered everyone toward the front door of her house.

* * *

After mountains of chocolate chips cookies and gallons of milk had been consumed and conversation had been light (David explained about Maxi's wings and they'd been laughing and jabbering with everyone) things settled down as the sweets began to digest and put all present, excluding Dr. Martinez, into a daze.

"So what are you all doing now, Max?" Dr. Martinez asked, sitting down at the table with her fourth cup of coffee. Fifth actually but one of them had gone cold before she'd been able to even take a sip.

"I've seen reports of mutant flying children in the news."

"Yeah we keep forgetting the 'lie low' part of our plan," Max said scowling in Fang's direction. He'd been the one who had convinced them to drop in on the football game that started the whole mess. Football game to clouds to Maxi to David and Gabe to teen club to Lindsay to the School…

"You have a plan? What is it?" Dr. Martinez questioned with concern. Max stiffened in her seat. "What are you doing right now?"

"Having fun and hiding," David interjected from Lindsay's lap where he was sitting sideways in a kitchen chair. One of his arms was thrown over the blonde's shoulders, around his neck.

"Really?" Dr. Martinez turned to him, curious and confused. "From what Max's said she's supposed to be helping save the world."

"Yeah but now she has time off. There isn't going to be any Cat-and-Mouse between herself and the wackos chasing her for a while. And since we met up I've decided to make it my job to force her to relax and have some fun."

"Oh," Dr. Martinez uttered and frowned then smiled brightly, apparently liking the thought of Max having a break. "Is there anything I can do? I could help out with somewhere to stay or-"

"That's okay," Maxi interrupted. "We're goin' ta are place."

"Well maybe you can," Max said then. "Help out I mean. You know that chip in my arm?"

"Yes. What about it?" Dr. Martinez asked cautiously. She feared where this was going.

"I still want it out." Max stated matter-of-factly.

Dr. Martinez sighed.

"Ever since you left I've studied your x-ray a hundred times, at least. I didn't think I would see you again but it drove me crazy. I wanted to find a way to remove it without damaging your nerves. I wanted to help."

"And did you find anything?"

"I'm not positive but I think I could do it with microsurgery…" Dr. Martinez's shoulders sagged as she spoke.

"Do it." Max demanded. "Do it now."

"You still might lose the use of your hand-"

Dr. Martinez was interrupted again. This time David was doing it.

"Wait. Before you do anything, can I know what microsurgery is?"

Dr. Martinez nodded.

"It's surgery done with under a microscope. It's usually used for skin grafting and in plastic surgery. But it's often used in neurosurgeries and pediatric surgery."

David thought on it for a while. His face was scrunched into a deep frown of concentration, making it look like thinking was painful. He was facing forward and staring down into some corner of Dr. Martinez's kitchen. His mind was working lightning fast.

"What if Maxi helped out. Surgery still means cutting too much. Maxi is telekinetic. It takes a bit for her to concentrate, but if she helped she could… do some things where using certain instruments might do more damage than help."

"I don't know…" Dr. Martinez said slowly, warily.

"Maxi, pick Total up," David commanded and the blonde turned and scowled at the furry black dog in Angel's lap. Slowly Total began to rise into the air, floating a foot higher than the table. He blinked in surprise.

"Holy cow," he breathed. Maxi's concentration slipped for a second and the furry dog dropped a couple inches, yelping, before floating up again.

"How long can she do this?" Dr. Martinez asked in fascination.

"Do you mean 'how long can she hold Total up like that'?" David countered, trying to verify even though he knew what she meant. Dr. Martinez nodded.

"Well we used to see what's the biggest thing she could lift, in a game you see, and the largest, heaviest thing was a couch and it was a foot in the air for thirty seconds before she dropped it. So I guess that she could probably hold Total up, just in the air, for ten minutes.

"Small things she can manipulate for longer periods of time as long as they're fairly close. Bigger things, shorter amount of time."

Maxi's brow was starting to shine with sweat.

"Uhhh you can put me down now," Total said, looking towards Angel's lap before darting his gaze to Maxi, eyes taking in the sweat on her forehead.

Slowly and carefully Total descended from the air until he was just hovering over Angel's lap. Gabe kicked Maxi's chair. The legs skidded over the floor and Maxi's concentration broke as she was jostled. Total fell the remaining inches into Angel's lap with an "oomph" of air.

"I still don't know," Dr. Martinez said slowly.

Fang reached over for Max's arm. He caught it in his grip and yanked her sleeve up.

"Just do it before she tries something stupid again, like cutting it out herself on a beach with a shell," he uttered in his quiet voice, clipped. He gestured to the puckered scars decorating Max's forearm.

* * *

"Maxine, can you move that tendon towards you?" Dr. Martinez commanded in question form. Maxi grunted softly through her nose, her hand trembling lightly where it hovered over Maximum's elbow of the arm strapped to the table. The other hand, over Max's palm, twitched but remained mostly steady. David noticed.

"You can do it Maxi," he whispered. "Just keep concentrating."

A bead of sweat rolled down Maxi's temple.

Max, who'd said some random full sentences but had mostly been mumbling, spoke up loudly.

"I love you Fang!" She slurred with a dopey grin, staring at said bird kid. "I love you _this_ musch…"

Fang choked on nothing and turned his head away slightly. Max tried to motion how much she loved Fang out with her arms but just the one not being operated on barely moved in Fang's grip.

"Seriously," she said, sounding like she was drunk. "I would not be very okay if you weren't around."

Drunks always sounded funny when they tried to have a serious conversation. Most of the time they didn't make sense but you got the idea. This was no different.

"Okay," Dr. Martinez breathed out quietly. Some movement of the machine she'd been using to operate with on her side. Then, "We're done. The chip is out."

Max was all stitched up and chip free. Some gauze would have to be wrapped around her arm but hopefully she'd be fine.

"Now Max, I'm going to unstrap your arm and I want you to wiggle your fingers." Dr. Martinez instructed, doing as she said she would.

"Okay," and Max wiggled the fingers of the hand in Fang's hand.

"The other ones," Fang said, face stoic and voice level.

"Oh eheheheh."

Max wiggled them. To everyone else though nothing happened. Dr. Martinez sucked in a breath.

"Max wiggle your fingers," Dr. Martinez repeated her order.

.

..

...

..

.

Max's middle finger twitched. Dr. Martinez let out a breath and Fang inhaled slow and big.

"Again honey."

"Why?" Max whined.

"Just do it, Max," David whispered harshly.

Max huffed and wiggled her fingers, from full fist to completely stretched out.

All of them moved in _small_ wiggling motions.

"Good. This is good. Okay Max, it may take you a bit to get back to full motor movement in your hand but we did it. The chip is gone and you can still use your hand."

"Thank god," Fang breathed.

* * *

The next day Fang was hanging out in the Martinez's back yard when Max came to him.

"What I said didn't mean anything," she hissed. "I love _everyone_ in the flock."

Fang's lips turned upward and his eyes gleamed.

"Uh-huh. You just keep telling yourself that. You _loooooooove_ me. Pick a tree. I'll carve our initials into it!" He laughed and pointed to the woods.

Max swung at him but he jumped back and she missed. She grit her teeth and spun on her heel, stomping back into the house. (2010)

David stepped around the corner looking just as smug as Fang, hands in his pockets.

"You like her, you love her, you want some more of her!" He taunted and then giggled.

"Leave me the hell alone," Fang murmured with a glare.

"Oh come on don't deny it. You want her as much as she wants you."

"Shut the hell up," Fang growled, turning away and unconsciously hunching his shoulders up. David frowned.

"Chill dude," he said pacificatory. "I'm only teasing. And lightly I might say, compared with what I used to do to the people I knew."

Fang said nothing.

A thought occurred to David.

"You know," he started. "It's okay to love more than one person. And… you can talk to me if you need to."

He offered an unseen half-smile and walked away, back around to the front of the house.

Lindsay was waiting for him there.

"Hey," he greeted softly.

"Hey," David greeted back, just as gently.

"Are you okay?" Lindsay asked.

"Maybe." David sighed and sat down next to his boyfriend on Dr. Martinez's porch.

Lindsay reached out and put his arm around David, placing his hand on the younger teen's waist.

"You're more mood swingy than normal," he remarked factually. David chuckled and leaned into the blonde's side. They both stared out at the goings on of the street. Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, and Maxi were playing hide-and-go-seek-tag up and down the street with Ella and some neighbor kids. Currently everyone was looking for Angel.

"I feel something off," David finally confessed.

"Off?"

"Yeah, like… in the air. A feeling of something just not being right."

"When is anything really ever right?"

"I hate you, you know." David's voice was contradictorily loving as he said this.

"Why? You say that several times a day so what's this time for?"

"Knowing what I'm thinking. Knowing almost every philosophy I ponder on. And then using it all against me. It's creepy. Like I'm arguing with myself again."

Lindsay was silent. He smiled, and squeezed David in a silent suggestion to continue with his thought before.

"Anyway," the dark-haired teen sighed. "I feel dread. And anticipation, but it's not my own. The dread is though. While you weren't with us I thought it was that but I still kept feeling it even after you showed up.

"The air just feels heavy too. Heavy to breathe. Heavy to move through. I have no clue why and it's all just annoying the fuck out of me."

"What about now?"

David jerked his head to look at Lindsay with a frown.

"Huh?"

"Now. What do you feel now?"

"Childlike joy. Happiness. Contentment. Beautiful things. Things that make me want to capture it in a bottle."

"So right now you're committing everything around you to memory?"

"Yeah… So I can retreat to it later when things aren't 'quite right' again."

Lindsay hummed before leaning and kissing David full on the mouth. David blinked twice before Lindsay was pulling away.

"What the hell was that for?" David asked with amusement in his voice and a confused smile.

"Something more to remember when you're down again. Something to remind you I'm here when you feel like shit," Lindsay said while smiling and pulling David closer to his side.

"You're so corny sometimes," David said laughing, placing his head on the blonde's shoulder. "I appreciate it though."

And then he tilted his head just right to capture Lindsay's lips in a slightly longer kiss, his fingers slipping into white-gold blonde locks. When they pulled apart David laughed again.

"I think I'm getting cavities from all this cotton candy fluff between us."

"Good. Everyone needs cotton candy fluff sometimes. You said so yourself." Lindsay looked smug and David half-heartedly punched his chest.

"Can it fool."

The loud giggles in the background alerted them to their audience of children.

"It's like in 'Little Mermaid' when Ariel kisses Prince Eric at the end," one of the neighborhood girls said. And the other girls giggled with her.

* * *

(2010) - Just noticed as I was typing that that exact spot was the 2010th "word"

**Jaded's end notes:** You know the deal. You're here you review. Well that's it for that part.


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